Employees continue working from home

Despite the government’s best efforts to get everyone back to the office a number of large companies are requesting that their employees remain at home for the foreseeable future. These include a number of global companies such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, Salesforce who are looking to extend their home working policies until 2021.

The benefits for employers are significant. Not only does it protect the health of employees in terms of the risks of the Coronavirus but the cost implications of this way of working is huge. A study found that employees who work from home are 13% more productive than when they are in the office.

A number of companies are looking at ways to best support their employees now they are working from home such as offering money to purchase office tools and equipment. Some organisations are also looking at their paid leave for working parents for ways they can help.

Social isolation

While a majority of employees are enjoying the extra time not having to commute to an office and the flexibility it gives people, there are a large proportion of people who are missing the social interaction and water cooler chats.

As well as the social aspect, being isolated may affect people’s mental health so it’s key to ensure that employees are kept in contact.

So what can employers do if employees are feeling isolated and not part of the team?

• Communicate with employees and have regular 121 meetings to ask how they are feeling about work and home etc.
• Suggest they work from the office (or other location) if this is safe and possible
• Arrange Teams calls with the full department or company. Have a quiz over lunch or something fun!

Employee wellbeing

A recent report found that poor employee health has become the most frequent cause of disruption to businesses globally, overtaking cyber-attacks for the first time since 2014.

Employee enthusiasm coupled with increased corporate spending and continued business disruption highlights a growing need for companies to implement employee wellbeing programmes in order to create successful and lasting programs.

Doing so sets the organisation apart and sends a strong message to employees and stakeholders that maintaining a healthy lifestyle inside and outside of work is an important part of the organisation’s ethos.