09 Jul Are Work from Home Jobs Here to Stay?
Despite new variants and other unforeseen challenges, the UK government intends to open up the country after the myriad of lockdowns caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. With the lockdown restrictions coming to an end and the successful rollout of the vaccination programme, we ask, are work from home jobs here to stay?
When they do allow all businesses to open up much the same as pre-pandemic, it would seem a considerable amount of companies will be adopting at least a hybrid working and flexible working style or enabling their staff to work from home permanently.
Out of the rubble, the building is rebuilt but never quite the same as it was before.
Companies that occupied and ran large premises saw how cost-effective it was to have their staff work from home and that their staff were more productive for the most part. Businesses that had plans to expand into new premises have either kiboshed the whole idea or chosen instead to move into coworking office spaces such as ‘WeWork’ to provide all the necessities and comforts without the permanence and bloat that comes with running business premises.
But are employees more productive working from home, and if so, why?
“A third of employers say working from home during the pandemic has boosted productivity, compared to just 28 per cent in June last year, new research from the CIPD has found.”
According to a report in the Telegraph newspaper, Richard Houston of Deloitte has told their 20,000 UK employees that they will not be required to go into the office for a set number of days and work from wherever they choose.
For some companies, it will be a case of continuing to help their staff feel safe and supported, and for others, this decision will be because it makes better business sense.
As a rule, happy staff make for a productive business, so adopting a collaborative approach could be the winning formula.
Because the pandemic has forced many businesses to make changes they possibly would never have considered before, it’s led to adopting a considerable amount of different working styles like flexible working. Not having to work fixed hours (flexitime), working from home and job sharing are ways employers and employees can work collaboratively and incorporate well-being into the working week.
This way of working has been seamless for companies who already had systems to work remotely from anywhere and at any time. Such as our CRM system, which can be accessed remotely.
One of our key clients, Morgan Motor Company, have been utilising the Sure Communication CRM system for several years on an international level to assist them to improve communication and increasing their Sales and Marketing activities. Because all departments and partners needs are housed within the platform, it makes collaborative working seamless and efficient. With the intuitive CRM software connecting to external software such as Office 365, working collaboratively has never been easier.
Perhaps by developing a CRM system, we had a sixth sense of what the future would hold in working from home?
Companies who are unwilling to shift their working practices to incorporate this new flexible approach to working or simply unable due to their business model will likely lose some employees due to the number of work from home jobs now available on online job boards.
There is a balance required to keep staff and customers safe, maintain employees comfortable in their working environment, and ensure the business continues to run at the optimum level.
These questions need asking.
- Has the business suffered at all due to staff working remotely?
- Have the team been more productive working from home?
- Will we lose some excellent employees if we force them to return to the office on a full-time basis?
- Has the wellbeing of staff improved since working remotely
- Are there continued savings to be made enabling staff to work from home and flexibly?
- Do staff feel safer working from home, working in the office or a hybrid of both?
- Will working from home cut time off for sickness and stress?
- Could we recruit more varied talent internationally by enabling staff to work remotely?
Many big companies are going all to allow their staff to work remotely for many of the beneficial reasons mentioned above. They have the infrastructure in place to enable this to happen quickly and smoothly.
Some companies are helping their staff work fully remote or giving the option to take the hybrid approach and then ensure their employees have everything they need to successfully work from home by providing equipment and, in many cases, a home office setup.
Long commutes are in a downward trend but as ever, balance is key.
If companies such as Siemens, Fujitsu, VMware, Shopify and Coinbase are all making this new wave of working from home for them and their business is thriving because of it, it seems that something positive could come out of a pandemic, which is nice, considering it has been a challenging time for all of us.
If you don’t yet have the proper infrastructure in place to enable your business to run smoothly while you implement a new working practice, talk to us about the SurCo CRM software and how it can help you allow your staff to work from home or take the hybrid approach.