How many staff are you letting work from home

[Chris Ashdown]

How many permanent staff in your company, are your going to let them work from home full time, when previously they were based in the office?

 

[busowner987]

none. They cant be trusted

 

[Chris Ashdown]

One negative answer, so we can assume that the talk of mass home workers may not be a great prediction based on the response of small business owners who make up the largest section of employees

 

[Porky]

I’m still split on it 4 months on.

In rough figures, out of 24 staff, 6 I can trust to be productive from home, 6 I am not sure about and 12 are not as productive/ easily distracted. And that’s before you take into account how effective knowledge transfer / training and problem solving is when they are not working in the same room

What shocked me was that one on my “trusted list” put a request in if we would permit work on a home business. It was declined but it t told me they considered they now had time on their hands to do something else in addition. Previously when they worked 35 hrs+ at the premises and travelled back and forth each day they certainly wouldn’t of even considered a second job.

With home working some staff can be easily distracted and you won’t get the output - this is the harsh reality.

 

[Onthebrightside]

I phone the Government Tax office and was put through to a guy working at home, at the end of the call I was asked to rate his service - which was brilliant by the way. Perhaps that is one way of ensuring your staff who are working from home are productive?

 

[Darren_Ssc]

I phone the Government Tax office and was put through to a guy working at home, at the end of the call I was asked to rate his service - which was brilliant by the way. Perhaps that is one way of ensuring your staff who are working from home are productive?

I had the same experience with my BT Business Mover, immediately after giving her 10 out of ten I got a bill that was about 5 times higher than it should have been. 1 week later Miss 10/10 hasn't sorted it out.

I reckon home working obviously works for her but the organisation behind her is somewhat lacking?

 

[Newchodge]

I worry about the title of this thread. 'Letting staff work from home' as if you are doing them a favour. For many it is actually very stressful, lacking normal social interactions of the workplace, appropriate equipment, appropriate environments and so on.

Whether an employee should or can work form home is a specfic decision between each employee and each employer.

If an employer decides they no longer need to pay for offices, but expects all staff to work productively from their home, without any investigation of the specific circumstances of each of the new workplaces, without reimbursing employee costs involved, they will have a potential car crash coming.

Similarly, if an employer now demands everyone return to work from the office without considering how effective, efficient and appropriate home working has been for each employee they have a different car crash coming.

Employers need to step up and manage the situation, with regard to home working, thoughtfully and professionally.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Is it really a problem as at present nearly all employees will be contracted to work from the company place of work

The next step for any who would prefer to work from home is for them to ask permission to change their place of work contract, where no doubt the in's and out's will be discusses

The company can make a offer to work from home and even offer trial periods, but i don't see where there present contract can be amended to force home working, maybe i am missing something

 

[SFH0791]

0,

i have installed "productivity" monitors on all their laptops (Laptops are company equipment so not illegal)

The ones I have Furloughed, well Rishi Sunak is paying their wages he can keep an eye on them

 

[Chris Ashdown]

I would guess monitoring staff at home could be a growth industry

 

[Rob Gordon]

Everyone, but we're lucky in that w'ere in websites/software - we don't produce anything physical. We have clients that do and they have had to keep a % of staff in the office. Some let staff volunteer or established a rota system to enable a split of some in the office an some at home.

 

[RobinBHM]

For many it is actually very stressful, lacking normal social interactions of the workplace, appropriate equipment, appropriate environments and so on

Apparently people are suffering from back aches, eye strain, headaches. Also increased stress levels, Covid has created loads of extra work for some.

I think the productivity of staff WFH depend on the job. Those in managerial positions are likely to be used to self motivation as their project timelines are longer.

 

[STDFR33]

I’ve worked from home since the start of lockdown. My contract will be changed so this is permanent.

We’ve found that it’s been much more productive working from home.

Nobody pestering you at your desk with questions they could have fathomed out themselves in a couple of minutes (they’ve now realised they can figure it out themselves).

Bad nights sleep? Work at 5am and clock off early. It means I’m not dragging myself to the office for 9am and only been productive until lunchtime. My mobile is still kept on if there’s anything urgent.

If you can’t trust your staff or your staff aren’t doing the work, that’s on you. You should be managing them.

We have a team meeting twice a week. One for setting out the objectives for the following week and one to see how we are getting on and if anybody is struggling and needs help.

 

[Mark T Jones]

One negative answer, so we can assume that the talk of mass home workers may not be a great prediction based on the response of small business owners who make up the largest section of employees

the average number of employees in a small business is 2. In many cases they will be co-habiting. (Also the silent statistic - in many cases only one will actually work n the company) - hence not huge response

I’m below average - it’s just me and I’ve worked from home for years

my parter company has 28 employees and 2 offices. The office with 4 people on it stayed fully open but gave staff the option to work from home - one did

the other office mostly closed with a rota of 3 in the office at any given time. They are gradually getting more back

It’s hard to compare productivity since lending has been almost non-existent, but theirMD is keen to get them back to an office-based environment

 

[CVRO]

We started with 40 out of 40 from mid-March to mid-June. Then, 2 of the employees asked to go back to the office and that has not changed since then.
I had never considered working from home before but, so far, the work continues to be done without any issues and I see no reason to rush back into the office now.

 

[Financial-Modeller]

Surely it depends what staff are employed to do.

Some staff can only perform the role at the place of work, some can perform the role from elsewhere e.g. home.

Whether can means will depends on the staff and how they are managed.

In many cases, a hybrid of home-working, local hotdesk/co-working spaces, and the (existing or new) office/work space will be the best answer.

 

[alan1302]

At home you are drinking more tea than working

Eiter you must be drinking a lot of tea or not doing much work then!

 

[Rebecca_J_T]

I have to admit that I find it difficult to understand why in some ways, we’re still operating in the same way we did before the industrial revolution (all in the same place regardless of whether we need to be, in the line of sight of a manager, clocking in, clocking out).

Our advice has very much been to take advantage of this opportunity to re-set - it’s not likely to come around again. However, at the same time, it’s important not to rush it, but to give it careful thought.

Here, we’ve taken the following approach:

1) We made some initial recommendations about where different tasks are best done: at home, in the office, or elsewhere. For instance, our advice is that tasks like building trust, emotional discussions, launching a new project and creative design work should be done in person. Tasks where facilities are the limitation should be done in the place where those facilities exist.

2) We’ve sat with each of our teams and profiled the work they do - the work, not the roles. This has helped us to be clear up front about the parameters - in particular, the tasks which will not allow remote working.

3) Our managers have met individually with their staff to understand their personal preferences within those parameters, recognising that everyone’s preferences are different.

4) We’ve designed and conducted a risk assessment for home-working (as well as for communal working, separately) which our managers and employees have worked through together as part of that individual meeting.

5) We’ve agreed where the employee will work for the time being. We haven’t rushed into contractual changes though, because we’re still not operating in normal circumstances. In a number of weeks, we’re planning to consult properly with all our staff, and expect (based on feedback to date) that an outcome of that consultation may be that we no longer need the office space that we have. If that’s the case, we’ll change our employees’ contracts to reflect their new home base.

We’ve definitely found this way of working to be more productive on the whole (likely influenced in part by being so close to the M25 which itself is a huge inefficiency!), but our advice to everyone we work with will continue to be that face to face still has a place. We’re also advising businesses to consider how to fulfil their duty of care to their employees at home, including the obvious things like work-station set up, but also things like social needs and work life balance.

 

[antropy]

none. They can't be trusted

Should be able to trust all your employees? Surely you would be able to see quite quickly if they are not pulling their weight? Alex

 

[Chris Ashdown]

I bet there are not many employers who have not had a problem with staff misusing mobile or company phones in working hours, doing shopping or facebook rather than doing work, and standing around the coffee facility for long times and that's whilst working in the office environment

They now all become well behaved hard working workers who now get down to working full time

 

[Energise Accounting]

For me all my staff have always worked from home. No real benefit for us to have a office.

 

[SillyBill]

I bet there are not many employers who have not had a problem with staff misusing mobile or company phones in working hours, doing shopping or facebook rather than doing work, and standing around the coffee facility for long times and that's whilst working in the office environment

They now all become well behaved hard working workers who now get down to working full time

I am not sure whether my experience is just anecdotal and non-representative but genuinely my experience of the Dutch, Germans and Scandinavians is when they work they work but they insist on their rest and lots of it. I think they've nailed it. And I respect them and their extended holidays. The productivity puzzle doesn't puzzle me from what I've seen in the UK, we're presenteeism over results. Would we mind that much if someone put 6 hours in at home if they absolutely nailed those 6 hours? I know I wouldn't as likely more than we're getting 8 hours "supervised". Whether we have that working culture here or not is debatable and if we don't where does it come from/how do you get it? Management or ingrained as a cultural trait? Questions I don't the answer to. We could work less IMO and do more but we'd rather spend more hours pretending to work.

 

[Rebecca_J_T]

I am not sure whether my experience is just anecdotal and non-representative but genuinely my experience of the Dutch, Germans and Scandinavians is when they work they work but they insist on their rest and lots of it. I think they've nailed it. And I respect them and their extended holidays. The productivity puzzle doesn't puzzle me from what I've seen in the UK, we're presenteeism over results. Would we mind that much if someone put 6 hours in at home if they absolutely nailed those 6 hours? I know I wouldn't as likely more than we're getting 8 hours "supervised". Whether we have that working culture here or not is debatable and if we don't where does it come from/how do you get it? Management or ingrained as a cultural trait? Questions I don't the answer to. We could work less IMO and do more but we'd rather spend more hours pretending to work.

I have an almost totally unfounded suspicion that the UK's preoccupation with presenteeism stems in part from the Industrial Revolution, which I don't think really touched the countries you've referred to. We value "grafters", and I think that's a particular cultural trait of the UK. I'm less familiar with German cultures, but my perception would be that "grafting" just isn't a value in the Dutch or Scandinavian cultures. People work hard, as you say, but they work hard because of values around progress and results, rather than because of values around "grafting" per se.

I do think there's something macro about this, so I think it's an epic challenge to create a shift. But I've seen some businesses make excellent headway. Abandoning set "office hours" where they're not needed is a good start; good goal setting is critical; and actively recognising high performance is incredibly helpful.

 

[MBE2017]

My wife works in a large office for the NHS, which has had only a skeleton staff since lockdown, approx 90% working from home or isolating. Three days ago they were informed everyone would be returning from the beginning of August, lots of money spent on new signage and PPE.

Two days later they received a memo stating everyone working at home should continue to do so, since there are worries of a second spike in infections of Covid. The mental health in her office is awful, several have resigned, struggling to cope with no contact, most managers are self isolating or using up holidays, many staff have only had one managerial contact in three months.

The worker bees, mostly agency zero hours, go in everyday, work very hard, and are all scared of job losses, since they are employed to help those no longer there.

 

[antropy]

Two days later they received a memo stating everyone working at home should continue to do so, since there are worries of a second spike in infections of Covid.

If you can continue working from home then I think you should do, especially if you use public transport to go into work. Alex

 

[gpietersz]

The productivity puzzle doesn't puzzle me from what I've seen in the UK, we're presenteeism over results.

Also, longer working hours do not mean more output. If you work longer hours and produce the same output, you produce less per hour so lower productivity.

Higher pay or less unskilled labour available helps too: low skilled jobs get automated away, and no longer pull down the average.

I think that's a particular cultural trait of the UK

I think the US is similar? As are some other countries.

 

[Darren_Ssc]

I think the US is similar? As are some other countries.

"It’s funny, people have been asking me since I got here, 'When is Yahoo going to have 20% time?'" she said on stage during an all-employee meeting at Yahoo. "I’ve got to tell you the dirty little secret of Google’s 20% time. It’s really 120% time."

Marissa Mayer

 

[nelioneil]

Surprised some office-based employers in the UK still have a preference for boots on the ground rather than their employees working from home. I thought there was years of research from EU countries including UK (especially Nordic countries) of increased productivity from working from home. Why are UK attitudes lagging behind?

 

[Karimbo]

Surprised some office-based employers in the UK still have a preference for boots on the ground rather than their employees working from home. I thought there was years of research from EU countries including UK (especially Nordic countries) of increased productivity from working from home. Why are UK attitudes lagging behind?

nordic countries, relatively cheap land, big homes, easy to have a dedicated space to work from home. In the UK we don't even have a tiny utility room for laundry. Most of us have our washing machines in the kitchen - this is actually quite unusal in most parts of the world.

Space is probably one of the issues, out of many already mentioned.

 

[Rebecca_J_T]

nordic countries, relatively cheap land, big homes, easy to have a dedicated space to work from home. In the UK we don't even have a tiny utility room for laundry. Most of us have our washing machines in the kitchen - this is actually quite unusal in most parts of the world.

Space is probably one of the issues, out of many already mentioned.

I think that’s a really good point. Lots of couples now sharing the same small space! It’s been interesting watching the increase in houses now going up on RightMove with designated office spaces though.

 

[davidjwest]

none. They cant be trusted

You pay people you don't trust? Interesting management style.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Surprised some office-based employers in the UK still have a preference for boots on the ground rather than their employees working from home. I thought there was years of research from EU countries including UK (especially Nordic countries) of increased productivity from working from home. Why are UK attitudes lagging behind?

Research can often get the response you want to hear, its incredibly hard to make a question that cannot me interpreted in two ways

 

[Punk19]

i hate this whole argument. staff do work better at home. I am in legal and the difference for me is unreal. yes, I cut the grass during work hours. BUT - I work harder and when I am sat at the computer I am 100 percent more motivated to do work

 

[alan1302]

i hate this whole argument. staff do work better at home. I am in legal and the difference for me is unreal. yes, I cut the grass during work hours. BUT - I work harder and when I am sat at the computer I am 100 percent more motivated to do work

Some staff do and some don't - you might do but a colleague may not. It's not black and white like that.

 

[Punk19]

you are right. and everyone is different - i honestly think that it should be a legal obligation now and like there's a right to request part time hours there should also be a right to request flexible working / working from home. NOW i am 100 percent sure that the solution is not for everyone in the country to work from home - but i rota of 3 at home and 2 in the office would help everyone in my mind as there's nothing worse then being sat in an office 5 days a week.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

From what we read on this forum and many others, there would appear to be many disciplinary cases brought by companies against their employees for breaking company rules whilst working at the office or workplace

As companies already have offices, no great savings probably for many years until the leases expire so limited savings in the short term

Many companies would find it easy in the present conditions to accept home working, but if brought in full time and it caused problems, it would be incredibly hard to change back to office working

There is also the potential problems on workers being constantly monitored with time and motion (old name from the past) making up numerous comparison charts to management on every minute of the working day. Great potential for extra work by unions and HR experts

 

[antropy]

Surprised some office-based employers in the UK still have a preference for boots on the ground rather than their employees working from home.

I think with Covid, the shift of more people working from home more or permanently has taken taken effect. Alex