Two years ago, companies were plunged into remote working, whether they were ready for it or not. And it’s been proved – remote working works, but far from perfectly. As we head into 2022 and a whole lot more working remotely, what are the issues surrounding remote working that we still need to get right?
Employee trust
Where employers trust their employees to get on with the job, focusing on the outputs they achieve, there is a good, usually happy, mode of remote working and working relationship. Focusing less on the hours each employee is sat physically staring at their screen or tapping their keyboard ensures that emphasis is on the work achieved, therefore conversations revolve more around that work, driving quality, work satisfaction and employees feeling appreciated.
Where there is a focus on clocking on and off times and hours put in, employees have been found to feel as if they are being over-managed and not trusted to do their work. And, the ultimate in mistrust of employees, where there is surveillance software, with some using in-device cameras to monitor employees, there is a mis-step in the employer/employee relationship and one which can be detrimental to the outputs needed.
Going forward, employee mistrust is set to be a continuing issue for companies utilising remote working and one that needs careful consideration by employers.
Flexible working – do you mean hours or location?
Where companies advertise roles as ‘flexible’ there can be a misjudgement on the part of employees to take flexible to mean the hours they work. Flexible, remote, hybrid are all terms now used so interchangeably there is potential to misunderstand what is actually meant when they are used without extra clarity.
Flexible working has traditionally meant flexible hours, rather than flexible location. Employers needs to be clear and specific about working conditions if using the term. If the role is working remotely, but is strictly 9 to 5, then it needs to be clear the hours are not flexible.
Where’s the line between work and life?
Portugal has recently made a ruling that employers are not allowed to call employees out of their working hours, unless it’s an emergency. What a sign of the times.
The line between work and personal lives has become so blurred during remote working with people working, living, eating and sleeping in their homes that emails are being answered at all times of day with employees finding it increasing difficult to switch off. Portugal felt the need to make a law to protect employees’ personal lives and private time so they are not taken advantage of by the blurring of these boundaries.
How your company manages its workload and ensures it can be achieved within formal working hours continues to be vital for remote working harmony.
Remote working as cheaper labour?
The debate goes on about this. Some companies believe that because it is ‘easier’ for employees to work from home, then they are justified in lowering their salary. Never mind that the company saves on overheads for the employees working in their own homes, and that those employees face higher heating and electricity bills for doing so.
Companies look to justify the lowering of salaries due to the lack of commute costs, but it is a move not taken well by employees who are effectively funding their own upkeep of workspace, risking work-life imbalance and all the other negative aspects of remote working, such as loneliness and lack of collaboration with, and input from, their colleagues.
Salaries need to be fair, focused on experience, outputs and role, rather than take into account what the employer assumes are extra advantages of remote working, which are not always advantages for the worker.
More awareness by employers of the issues in remote working may be all it takes. But for remote working to become a really healthy and successful model for everyone, businesses and employers alike there needs to be consideration of what can go wrong and understanding of how things can be put right, to everyone’s advantage, better working and work-life balance.
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