Kentish Express Ashford & District
Home working could be a lasting legacy
Asignificant shift towards more working from home could be one of the lasting legacies of the lockdown, according to business leaders and workers alike. With many offices only now slowing beginning to reopen - and in doing so ushering in a host of new measures to ensure social distancing measures and increased hygiene levels can be maintained, many look destined to continue working from their make-shift home offices.
According to a recent survey by video conferencing app company StarLeaf, around 60% of the workforce would like to work from home more often after lockdown is lifted and 25% would be happy to go into the office just once a week.
Only half of respondents saw their productivity change; 24% getting less work done and 25% achieving more than in an office environment.
Jo James is the chief executive of the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce and believes both businesses and employees can benefit from working from home more.
She said: “Offering a more flexible approach to work creates a much more productive and happy workforce.
“Some people do prefer the more relaxed atmosphere at home.
“There’s no doubt some people can be far more productive this way, because they don’t have the added distractions from the office.”
She feels, in the past, businesses have often struggled in finding a work-life balance, but coronavirus has taught business work can be done perfectly well remotely.
It could, she warns, also have a knock-on effect on demand for office space as firms see the potential benefits of a remote workforce.
With social distancing likely to be required up until either a vaccine of successful treatment can be found, the sheer practicalities of getting staff back into an office will present a serious challenge for many.
Not only are workplaces now required to reach Covid Secure status in order to be able to reopen, for smaller offices the challenge is simply working out how to fit staff in while maintaining a two-melikely tre distance.
That is to see a shift in work patterns which allow them access to the office but in a staggered approach. A recent study by Imperial College London has suggested firms usher in a shift pattern which would divide staff into two groups which would see them spend four days in the office followed by 10 at home.
The two groups would rotate each fortnight with their traditional two-day weekend break falling wherever the shift pattern took them. It’s unlikely to work for everyone, given child care requirements, but it’s a sign of the ‘new normal’ staff and employers are now grappling with.
It is a far cry from the start of this year when many firms had not entertained the idea of home working.
Josh Davis is network manager for The Education Company in Sittingbourne, who says the lockdown created a “trial by fire” for home working.
He said: “Getting people to work from home can be initially challenging for several reasons. You have to physically get colleagues’ computers set up - with some less tech savvy than others. I had to show them how to set up a PC from scratch and in some cases had to set it up for them to take in their car.
“It put strain on our workforce to get everyone set up on our network from outside of the building. But now it is done there is little difference to them being in the building and in the office. The only issue now is internet strength in people’s homes.”