Barriers & Facilitators to Workplace Wellbeing for Remote/Hybrid Working in Ireland
Leadwell Consultancy
Specialists in workplace wellbeing through creative approaches, inclusive education and employment practices
Levina Reeves, February 2023
Introduction
Key government and industry trends impacting the transition to the hybrid working model can inform the overall scope of strategic changes and implementation for organisations. This article summarises principle employee wellbeing component factors to illustrate the current macro environment impacting an overall transition to a hybrid model of working. Although an element of research has been derived from the heightened remote working due to Covid19 restrictive work practices, the relevant factors for this report can be extracted to inform the hybrid model of employee wellbeing aligning with the overall corporate and HR strategies.
Economic Factors
First, it can be readily recognised that there are significantly reduced costs of going to work and commuting with remote elements of working (McCarthy, et al., 2020). There are also tax/financial incentives that can be paid to employees working from home to cover their expenses (Department of Enterprise, Trade, and Employment, 2021). Another aspect of fiscal impact is that 62% of employees surveyed, either agreed or strongly agreed that remote elements of work had increased their productivity (McCarthy, et al., 2020). Whereas, according to the CDC Foundation, a documented injury of remote working such as back pain, for example, can cost a company up to an equivalent of €1,482 per employee in lost productivity due to absenteeism (CDC Foundation, 2015).
Biopsychosocial Factors
This area reveals a considerable amount of biopsychosocial factors that impact the prospect of remote or hybrid working. Research shows that 25% of the surveyed workforce has expressed an interest in a mix of home, hub, or onsite work (McCarthy, et al., 2020); and it is known that there is greater scope for flexibility in how to manage the working day with remote elements of working (McCarthy, et al., 2020). In 2020, 40% of employees surveyed, had planned to leave their employer due to burnout and a lack of flexibility (Microsoft Corporation, 2020). Research shows that 52% of employees indicated that they work more hours, on average, when working remotely compared to onsite (McCarthy, et al., 2020) and that employees can have trouble switching off and keeping regular working hours (Microsoft Corporation, 2020).
Regarding physical activity and sedentary behaviour, 60% of employees have admitted to reducing physical activity by over 50% since working remotely (Robinson, 2021); and 50% of employees reported an increase in lower back pain, 48% in shoulder pain and 52% in eye strain due to ergonomic hazards in ill-equipped/remote environments. (Robinson, 2021). This also refers to the earlier economic factors regarding company costs due to back pain.
Looking at psychological impacts, seven in ten employees who work from home were documented as feeling more isolated compared to being in the office, with many workers missing simple things such as in-person meetings (39%), office celebrations (35%), and after-work happy hours (34%) (Robinson, 2021);
When we look at an example of the social model, people with disabilities have expressed the need to maintain much-needed work gains experienced from remote working due to increased accessibility (Ryan, 2021). There are also Initiatives for centralised cross-departmental knowledge for equality that can be investigated to sustain these gains (Department of Enterprise, Trade, and Employment, 2021).
Technological Factors
Currently, there are still broadband issues and poor connectivity that impede remote working (McCarthy, et al., 2020) with centralised cross-departmental knowledge for broadband standards hoping to positively influence hybrid opportunities (Department of Enterprise, Trade, and Employment, 2021). With these infrastructures in place, the move towards virtual training, for example, could counter synchronous or logistical issues of these work elements (Microsoft Corporation, 2020).
Environmental Factors
One of the most obvious aspects of working from home is the reduced issues with traffic and commuting (McCarthy, et al., 2020). There are also the challenges of obtaining and maintaining physical workspaces in the current climate (McCarthy, et al., 2020). What needs to be considered by companies with regard to commuting, is that the majority of the population of rural Ireland lives outside towns of 10,000 or more; and this is as high as 80% in western regions (Western Development Commission, 2019).
Political & Legal Factors
The introduction of a code of practice on the right to disconnect can hopefully counter the challenges employees have faced when trying to stabilise hours and switch off from work (Department of Enterprise, Trade, and Employment, 2021). Establishing the Right to Request Remote Work for all workers into the Work-Life Balance Bill will result in employers and employees now having to consider requests for hybrid or remote working under one piece of legislation. This will come under the remit of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). This aims to restructure the process and avoid uncertainty. Under this legislation employees would have a legal right to request to work remotely and to be provided with the Code of Practice when considering requests which will include guidance to employers and employees on their obligations regarding compliance (Department of Enterprise, Trade, and Employment, 2022).
Summary
Barriers
Facilitators
Recommendations
This analysis of the macro environment has returned many incentives espousing the transition to a hybrid working environment that will merit both company service production and the wellbeing of employees. There are, however, specific factors listed that can inform strategic health and wellbeing objectives for the development phase. The suggested next steps are to: set concrete goals and objectives, estimate costs, and define scope and key deliverables for staff wellbeing and retention.
References?
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