The blurred boundaries between work and home life continue

Some organisations remain challenged with creating a solution that meets their and their employees needs.

To help any business who is grappling with issues of a similar nature, this article shares a case study of how we used our System 1 and 2 research techniques to create a solution that supported understanding what employees were thinking and how they were feeling.

Working from home does not work for everyone

43% of UK workers preferring to work from the office than at home, and one in five want a more flexible approach to their working pattern with the ability to work both at home and at the office in a way that suits their needs.

The chart below shares the future working preference of men and women across various age groups Under 35s and men have highest preference for the office, whereas women and over 55’s value flexibility of home working.

Do you have a preference when it comes to your future working set-up?

What we have learned along the way

The office still has a role to play in the new normal, but what can we learn from the home working experience, to ensure employers hit the right balance between in-office and flexible home working that will both enable businesses to thrive but also create engaged, stimulated workers.?

The importance of bringing people together can be seen in our data, with homeworkers feeling isolated and sometimes disengaged.

The chat below shares the results of a choice based exercise, where we asked homeworkers what was important to them.

What is most important to you when working from home (% in top 3 ranked choices)

This raised similar priority issues with one of the worst performing areas being a feeling of isolation/loneliness. However, we can also see new themes emerging, such as the balancing home/work life, access to information and equipment and communications from senior peers.

Using our System 1 Emotional technique, we uncover the current and ideal emotions people associate with homeworking. We’ve unlocked a System 1 pathway to how workers are really feeling; and the picture is mixed.

Whilst some homeworkers are content and feel capable working from home, there is an underlying emotion of a commoditised experience that felt out of their control. There are feelings of disengagement and indifference.

Instead, the ideal experience is characterised by a stimulating and cooperative working experience that drives hope for the future through collectively achieving success. It’s what we often see in office working environments, where teams can more easily come together, collaborate and feel energised.

Office environments clearly have a part to play in delivering on employees’ ideal experience of being energised and part of a team. If employers are going to move forward with a hybrid of office and home based working these important engagement issues need addressing.

Creating a working experience ideal for all

The challenge for employers is to combine the best elements of flexible homeworking and office-based teams to create a productive working environment that both suit the needs of the new normal and the diversity of their workforce.

Flexibility is now normal with some teams in the office and some at home, or using both as it suits them - employer behaviours, policies and technology must adapt to thrive in this new normal.

Using insights from our research we have outlined three key areas employers and technology tools can focus on to bridge the gap between remote and flexible working

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1.????? Keep me connected

Employees have felt they don’t have access to the technology or information they need.

Users are keen to access the right information when needed. Business and technology partners need to focus on resolution and education so that employees can become more self-reliant and self-serve the solving of these problems for themselves (while the wider business are reassured that security protocols and best practices to align to IT policy are not short-circuited).?? This means sharing self-serve documentation and user guides in conjunction with offering direct support so that employees feel stimulated and a sense of co-operation, aligning more closely to their ideal working-from-home experience.

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2.????? Am I at home working or working from home?

Collaborative working tools and policies are vital to ensuring no team or individual is left feeling overwhelmed or isolated.? Flexible and collaborative working environments are ideal for those needing to juggle work and home commitments, creating the ability to work in windows far outside the traditional 9 – 5 is key so deadlines are met.

Technology providers able to boost or streamline tools that can support teams with non-overlapping working hours would be ideal so someone starting work later can pick where a previous employee has finished, enabling employees to benefit from teams of people working their 7.5 hours per day when it suits them, rather than having to be online for 12 hours.

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3.????? Connect with me

Communication when remote working is vital to avoid people feeling isolated and disengaged.?? Workers value communication from both colleagues and managers, but currently manager communication is rated lower than communication with colleagues, indicating employers need to step-up and connect with remote staff.

It is important to keep teams connected with an adequate flow of information and communication, ensuring that the manner with which this information is shared marries to how employees feel. This is where technology can play a key role, both in terms of connecting staff to information but also connecting people – mitigating the remote nature of home-based work. Work based Tech that enables collaboration must remember that the ideal emotional signature is one that enables teams not just to work collaboratively, but to stimulate each other and provide that magic spark of hope for the future that is achieved by teams creating a positive, improving culture.

Failure to connect with remote employers is more than simply a communication issue, leading to a feeling of isolation and disengagement as employees lose touch with their sense of purpose and hope, and ultimately productivity and quality of outputs.

Employers should never underestimate the impact isolated employees can have on an organisation, with over 70 million UK workdays lost each year to mental health problems (Mental health foundation).? Communication from managers should not simply focus on the day to day support but how people are feeling to help build a culture of supportive colleague relationships and intervene if the warning signs are apparent.

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Adapting to flexible working

Businesses across the board must use learnings and insights to adapt to the new way of working.?

It’s highly unlikely that we ever going to revert to pre-Pandemic 9-5 office-based behaviours. Instead, we’ll see a flexible approach to working, allowing individuals to find a path that best suits their personal circumstances – whether that be in the office, at home or a fusion of the two.

Employees deeply value the flexibility of having the choice to work from home if it suits their needs. For technology providers and businesses, this means finding an agile, effective and robust way of adapting to employee needs; it means listening to challenges, testing ideas and innovation and adapting processes to provide the supporting, collaborative and dynamic framework that enables teams to thrive.

If you would like to understand how hybrid working is perceived in your organisation or how your employees emotionally connect - message me, we can arrange a call.