Working From Home

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, remote working opportunities were few and far between. For example, a study from NCCI reported that “only 6% of the employed worked primarily from home, and about three-quarters of workers had never worked from home.” In addition, before Covid-19, employers favoured face-to-face interactions between employees and customers.

However, when the government implemented restrictions in March 2020, a seismic shift occurred. Where possible, employees were encouraged to work from home. In addition, the pandemic presented many challenges, with employers working hard to ensure they had the suitable tech and facilities.

Nevertheless, remote working proved beneficial in stopping the spread of the virus. Furthermore, it also had a positive impact on many employees. For example, “67% of people said their work-life balance improved when they started working remotely.” In some instances, productivity and efficiency boomed as a side-effect of remote or hybrid working opportunities. 

During this time, many people began to think that working from home would change things forever. But has it? 

Remote Working In 2022

As restrictions eased, many employers faced a tricky question. Do they continue to allow employees to work from home, or do they mandate a return to the office? 

Returning to work

According to a study by Zippa, 49% of remote employees returned to the office full-time as of 2022. There were many reasons for this return-to-office push. For example, some employers believed that returning to the office would boost productivity, allowing them to recover from any financial instability caused by the pandemic. 

Returning to the office also improved in-house communication and face-to-face customer interactions. After all, “even in this digital age, the need to interact with people face-to-face cannot be replaced and is still a very important tool to generate leads, boost sales and increase brand awareness.” 

While some employees had reservations, others were keen to return, believing this would allow for better career progression. This perspective is understandable. Given that data collected by the UK parliament found “people who worked mainly remotely were less likely to be promoted and to have access to training opportunities.”

Continuing to work from home

While there are clear benefits associated with heading back into the office, there’s no denying that working from home, even part-time, can be fruitful for businesses and individual employees. 

As such, it was natural to see some push-back when business owners began encouraging employees to return. For example, 44% of workers were worried about returning to work due to health risks. In contrast, others wanted to maintain their new work-life balance.

In addition, companies that were successful as a product of remote working realised that a return to the office might not be advantageous. For example, a fully-remote company can cut down their monthly expenses to landlords.

Remote working also broadens a company’s prospects when hiring new staff. This is because they are no longer limited to hiring employees within the local area, creating a bigger talent pool. Furthermore, research shows that “97.6% of workers would like to work remotely, at least some of the time, for the rest of their careers.” Many hiring prospects may disregard jobs requiring them to be at the office daily. 

Hybrid Working

For many, Hybrid Working is still the future of working. This is because it allows companies to enjoy the best of both worlds – a collaborative working environment with plenty of interaction, reduced costs, and happier employees. 

By combining the benefits of remote and in-person work, businesses can set themselves on the path to success. Despite this, more work is required to ensure that plans are realistic long-term. In March 2022, Forbes found that 72% of businesses lack a clear hybrid work strategy. In these instances, a lack of planning could lead to complications. For example, employees may need suitable technology within their homes to fulfil their duties.

As such, companies planning to continue to work from home, or offer hybrid working opportunities, must consider the future trajectory of their business and the steps required to move forward. This will create an environment where everyone can succeed. 

Conclusion

On balance, the Hybrid Working approach is the compromise between employer and employee. It seems odd that, as human beings, we would choose never to come out of our home offices and interact socially. Furthermore, the long-term effects of prolonged working from home have yet to have enough time to become measurable.

Like everything in life, it comes down to striking a good balance – and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to remote working. But the COVID-19 pandemic has given us food for thought and a reason to re-examine remote working to find out where that balance is.