Homeworking isn’t going anywhere anytime soon

Posted 4 years ago

2020 has seen homeworking become the new normal for hundreds of thousands of people across the UK, including iHasco staff! And it looks like homeworking is here to stay…

The Institute of Directors (IoD) conducted a study of 958 company directors between 11 and 30 September 2020 (mostly smaller businesses) and found that 74% plan to keep the increase in homeworking as a permanent fixture. Meaning that more than half of the respondents planned on reducing their long term use of workplaces.

In fact, some of the business owners that have already cut the use of workplaces (44%) reported that they thought homeworking was proving to be “more effective”.

But while a lot of people have seen success from it, it’s important to remember that not everyone will keep to homeworking.

“Working from home doesn’t work for everyone, and directors must be alive to the downsides. Managing teams remotely can prove far from straightforward, and directors must make sure they are going out of their way to support employees’ mental wellbeing. The benefits of the office haven’t gone away. For many companies, bringing teams together in person proves more productive and enjoyable. Shared workspace often provides employees with the opportunity for informal development and networking that is so crucial, particularly early on in a career.”

Roger Barker, director of policy at the IoD

Prior to this, a BBC survey, conducted in August this year, found that

50 of the biggest employers in the UK had no plans for remote workers to go back to the office in the near future
24 firms were not looking to place workers into the office
20 had opened their offices to people that couldn’t work from home
9 in 10 workers were happy to remain working from home

How can I support my employees that are homeworking?

There are lots of ways employers, HR Managers, Health & Safety managers and other managers can help employees to effectively work from home and maintain their mental and physical wellbeing. You might make sure that employees have all the support they need, or make sure they have a good routine in place to separate work life from home life, or encourage them to speak up if they’re struggling with anything or provide them with the tools they need to work safely. But for more information on what you can do, we have lots more blogs dedicated to the topic of homeworking and remote working:

Training for Employees

We’ve also got lots of training to support your employees that are homeworking. Our Remote Worker Training Bundle includes the training your employees need to work safely and happily at home. This bundle includes: