During the current pandemic crisis, business leaders handling the avalanche of government legislation have had another issue on their minds – when this is all over, how many people can I leave working from home? Rob Williams, Denis Barnard and Lisa Ali examine what needs to be in place for people to work from home effectively and safely.
It’s a tempting prospect. A reduction of office space and the on-costs in city centres will go straight to the bottom line. In theory, a number of activities can easily be performed remotely and the ability of many businesses to adapt to working from home during lockdown has shown how viable it is.
Without doubt, HR leaders will be tasked with investigating the feasibility of WFH and then implementing it. They will need to consider the individual and their surroundings to judge how WFH will impact them, physically, emotionally, financially and socially.
- How work friendly is the home environment?
Does the employee live in a reasonably quiet neighbourhood? Outside noise should not be sufficient or prolonged enough to cause loss of concentration.
Do they have a suitable space in the home to assign as a workspace? Ideally a room or part of a room that’s airy and well-lit. If they can look out of a window without the light affecting the screen, so much the better; staring at a wall for several hours a day is dispiriting.
