Why companies should adopt / offer a working from home policy

Why companies should adopt / offer a working from home policy

As many companies have been forced to furlough employees, or ask their employees to work from home where possible, we find ourselves in unsettling times. 

However one industry which has been business as usual, and in some cases thrived is the tech industry. Vodafone recently stated that they've seen a 50% increase in internet usage during lock-down. As a result gaming, streaming and ISPs have both thrived and profited from the current situation.  

The extra free time, and flexibility of home working has allowed for creative juices to flow and many have turned to starting their own businesses. 

Shopify, an e-commerce platform  which allows customers to setup their site with shop functionality, with currently more than 800,000 eCommerce sites,  reported a huge 97 per cent sales rise over its second quarter (higher then eBay). 

Working from home 

As many companies have had to adopt the working from home environment, we've all been asked on many occasions "How are you coping?". 

At first I struggled I really struggled. Myself and my fiancée were cooped up on a kitchen table sitting for 8/9 hours opposite each other seated on wooden benches. Our internet often cut out or struggled to handle multiple simultaneous video calls. Connecting to work systems, firewalls, and security restrictions limited our working. 

We experienced physical discomfort. Sitting for prolonged periods of time, with no escape from your home or reason to leave your desk (no meetings, colleagues to go talk to) took its toll on our bodies, and boy did we feel it at the end of the day. 

My opinion changed 

Over time though, once companies had time to adapt and overcome these challenges, I saw the benefits of working from home. 

No commuting,  I gained 2 hours of my life back a day. I get to cook a nice lunch each day I want. Financial savings during lock-down or working from home were huge, one reason was as i didn't have a plethora of eateries on my doorstep. 

I was able to get some house work done during my lunch (laundry, washing up, hoovering) meaning i had more time when i finished work to relax , or enjoy my time.

On top of all this, my workload wasn't affected. I was able to keep on top of all projects and tasks and completed the same number of cards I would if I was in the office. In some ways I may have been more productive. Many days I worked past my normal working hours, mainly because in my mind I'm thinking 

" I don't need to catch that bus" or "I'm leaving on time now because it takes me an hour to get home"

However like many things, it's all about balance, some days you work late / extra hours, then others you may finish earlier (if you work allows flexible working hours that is). 

So why don't more companies adopt a WFH policy normally ? 

Simple, to some companies it's unfamiliar territory. Perhaps companies believed that working from home would hinder employees; their employees would be less productive, or perhaps they genuinely just wanted all staff where they could see them. Ok, that's just the cynic in me.  What i have I've seen though, is many more tech companies offering flexible working hours with a core hours base, allowing staff to come and go as they please a along as they're in the office between certain times and complete their contracted daily / weekly hours.  

Will things change ? 

I suspect that once Covid returns to normal, the normal working environment will not be the same.  In addition to changes within the workplace to keep employers safer,  I expect more companies to adopt or offer a more flexible working pattern which will include more time working from home. 

A recently conducted LinkedIn poll of over 250,000 participants found that over 30% of them said they'd be happy to work 3 days from home, nearly 31% said they'd be happy to work from home full time, and only 4% said they'd rather be in the office full time as normal. So why wouldn't companies listen to what their employees want. I've listed some pros and cons I can see of allowing employees to have the option to work from home.

Pros:

1. Happier employees - employees feel they have some element of control on their work / life balance. 

2. Flexibility - workers have flexibility to work around their out of work needs e.g childcare, pets, healthcare (doctors ,dentists etc) 

3. Office costs - companies can relocate to smaller office spaces due to smaller number of employees in the actual office.

4. Company can have flexible salaries - companies are less restricted to competing with salaries in their based cities. They can outsource to other counties or even countries allowing workers to gain work they want without uprooting. 

5.  Salary Benefits - both the company and the employee can both benefit from higher or lower salaries. The company can hire people further a field from their office locations. This means they don't have to pay the 'going rate' in their city, they can pay what they feel is adequate for the candidates skill set, or experience. On the flip side, employees can stay in their home town, no re-locating for their dream job, or to even find a job, and still potentially get salary they want. 

An example would be my home county, their are limited tech jobs so I had to move away in order to pursue a tech career. However remote working could have opened up an opportunity for me within my home county. I could ask for the salary I think I'm worth, rather than a salary the location deems suitable for me. I get paid my worth. 

Cons:

1. Less human / social interaction 

  

2. Some companies may have initial costs for infrastructure changes and adapting to allow WFH such as equipment, security, health and safety. 

3. Increased costs to the employee of working from  home that they didn't expect. 

Summary:

In my opinion as long as work gets done, deadlines get met why does it matter where workers are. As long as it doesn't cause problems to the company, or hinders them in the long run, I feel it should be made available. 

Companies should at least try offering the ability to work from home, perhaps on a 60/40 split (home/office) on a trial basis. Utilise the tools available such as video calling, and instant messaging to communicate. 

Speaking to friends, and from online poll results, it seems people are happy to work from home all week, or for a period of the week. I've spoken to friends and many of them feel more relaxed, their mental health is stronger, and seem happier with their work / life balance without their work suffering. Surely this must mean something to their employers. Obviously this only applies to those still working within lock-down and the current crisis. 

You could also say from a company point of view, they can utilise working from home as a selling point for their job position. It could also open up the talent pool to a nation, or even world wide spectrum, benefiting the company in finding the perfect candidate.

Companies who never thought that home working would be possible have adapted, and have proven that their businesses can work very well with remote working. Surely this proof should have some value, and will hopefully change their opinions on both how effective working from home can be, and how well it can work.