Employees need face-to-face communication
SIR – I recently had cause to contact the customer service department of a large, well-known and respected store. After some discussion, the member of staff, who was clearly working from home (Letters, May 16), became annoyed with me and closed the call.
When I managed to speak with a senior member of the customer service team to complain, I suggested that maybe this member of staff was under some stress of which managers were unaware. I was told that this would be discussed when the staff member was asked about the incident.
This is why working from home is a disaster. Employers have no idea just how a team member is performing, and team members are unable to leave the stress of home at home.
The phone is a great device, but there is absolutely no substitute for being in the office, in person, to be part of a team, face to face. Otherwise too much body language and unspoken communication is lost to the ether. Heather Erridge Weston-super-mare, Somerset
SIR – Working from home on a Friday means that I can use my coffee, lunch breaks and two-hour commute time to do the washing and receive the grocery delivery. This means I can get on with the weekend when it starts.
I assume these aren’t matters that Jacob Rees-mogg, the Cabinet minister who is leading the campaign to get civil servants back into offices (Interview, May 14), has to consider when he plans his week.
Joanne Grimwood
Sutton, Surrey
SIR – Your leading article (May 14) seeks to blame HR for gaining “ever greater influence over how companies are managed”. This is an outdated view.
A contemporary HR department will advise on the deployment and management of people in a way that supports the business’s strategy and profitability. That includes whether staff need to work remotely, in an office, or a mixture of both.
The private sector, far from being “infected by a well-being culture”, is better off for it. Modern business has embraced the fact that if workforces are mentally and physically healthy, then productivity and performance can only benefit.
Chris Coyne
Wokingham, Berkshire