In last weeks blog post, we looked at the pros and cons of remote working for the workers themselves…if you missed it, check it out here.
While workers do have a voice, it’s not as simple as them deciding whether they want to work remotely or not. What about the companies that pay the wages? There is so much to consider from a business perspective and I think it’s important we look at how dramatic these changes can be for them too.
Below will look at 5 key areas that organisations will need to consider when it comes to remote working. From office spaces and cyber security to innovation and collaboration, there is so much to figure out. Read on to find out more.
What to do with your commercial space?
If you have the ability to remote work, chances are your “normal” workplace is an office or building of some type.
Much like the tough housing market right now, the commercial property sector has challenges for business owners. Many companies rent out their work spaces and some could be long term leases.
It will be tough for a company to pay out huge rents on buildings they don’t intend to use any more to their full capacity.
Depending on:
- the length of lease.
- their relationship with the landlords/banks.
- what the medium/long-term goal is for the company.
it is going to be a tricky situation for organisations to navigate over the coming years.
Health and Safety.
For decades, it was all about the worker having to adjust to their work settings. There was no such thing as risk assessments, health & safety, duty of care or ergonomics.
Ergonomics put simply is adapting the work environment to the worker. For people who work in office type settings this would include:
- access to the correct table and chair.
- good lighting.
- noise control.
- temperature control.
- risk assessments.
In other words, it’s the employers duty of care to make sure you are working in conditions that are conducive to a safe working environment.
All of this is relatively straight forward in a shared working space like an office, but imagine trying to do it for hundreds of homes? Logistically and financially this can be troublesome.
Most people who are remote working at the minute have just been thrown into the situation due to the pandemic, as have the companies. Due to this, people have been happy to do their work in makeshift settings.
Long term though, this isn’t an option and companies know this. A lot of time, effort and resources will have to be used to bring remote working up to the correct levels of health & safety.
Security.
Unfortunately, we are all too aware of the dangers of hackers and cyber criminals with what is going on with the HSE IT system right now. Telephone scams are also on the rise with cyber criminals becoming more and more sophisticated.
It’s really important for companies to have secure structures in place, for a number of reasons:
- GDPR.
- confidential company information.
- protection of knowledge.
- finance protection.
IT departments setting up systems for remote workers are going to have to make sure that the right level of security is intact for each home, or wherever the remote working will take place. Not an easy task. View Sonic also highlight the security issues remote working can bring to a company.
Growing your knowledge base.
An organisations main aim is to improve what they do year on year. Even if the changes are only small, it can be the difference between surviving or thriving.
When I say organisations improve, what I mean is their workforce improves. A lot of this improvement comes from people sharing ideas, experiences and knowledge. This can all happen in casual settings too, not just formal work integration. Planergy write a good article about advancement, retention and visibility in relation to remote working.
While companies are using platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams to good effect right now, I do think people might lose an edge in terms of developing their own knowledge base. This in turn can effect overall company performance.
Short term, this will not be felt, but medium to long term, there may be a fear that employees are standing still. Not because they want to, but because a lot of those learning experiences can only happen in a live work setting.
Organisations are going to have to take into careful consideration the fact that remote working could have an impact on their workforces ability to share knowledge and ultimately learn.
Getting the balance right.
In terms of remote working, some workers:
- will want to and love it.
- may want to, but don’t have the space.
- will never want to.
- would like a mix of both.
- trial it for 12 months and want to come back to the office.
- excel.
- fall behind.
In other words, there is so much to it and it’s going to take a lot of trial and error to get things right. Companies need to make sure they do not put all workers into the one basket and hope for the best, getting the balance right will be key.
To conclude.
For businesses and employees alike, the last 18 months has thrown us into remote working where many may have never experienced it before.
We have been accepting of the set up, because everyone understands dramatic times call for dramatic action.
As the pandemic nears an end though and things begin to go back to some level of normality, the topic of remote working will really kick off.
As we see from above, it’s not as straight forward for businesses as some may think as there will be a lot to consider. I for one do not envy them, but it’s important organisations can strike the right balance for everyones sake.