Employers offering Ongoing Total Work from Home - Be Warned !!

Now this subject could and probably will cause divide amongst many people (both employers and employees) however do hear me out on this.

As we know Covid-19 has meant that times have massively changed and understandably both employers and employees have had to adapt to the new world. Many companies (due to government as well as safety restrictions) have been forced to offer employees work from home employment, however my personal opinion is long term I don't see this set up being good for either the employer, employee or the economy and here's my theory on why?

We know that technology has massively improved over the years and this has absolutely helped everyone continue with some degree of business as usual when working from home, however I do think that companies may not have considered the long term affects that this will cause both the economy as well as their employees.

Having spoken to a good number of clients (across all industries) over the last few months I'm seeing a pattern that may not be bright for the future. Sure - If you work in London and have to travel 2 hours (by Train and Tube etc) then lets be honest the journey isn't the most appealing and I totally get employees thoughts around that 'I'd rather work from home' (who can blame them from a time saving, cost and of course Covid-19 safety element) however when things do calm then I do think this is when a problem will really start.

Here's my thinking on this, firstly many small organisations that totally rely on travelling office workers will really suffer from employees not going back to work in the office; from the newsagents that you buy your paper from, the coffee shop that you get your 3 shot skinny latte, to the dry cleaners, that occasional shop you go to once every 3 months for that pair of shoes (you've had your eye on for a while), to the place you buy your lunch from and of course to the bar that you occasionally go to on a Friday night before travelling home to. All of these businesses really rely on passing trade and a consistency of people movement to survive and if this isn't there then the likelihood of their survival is going to be slim to none.

As Oasis used to sing "Some Might Say" that just because you are working from home it doesn't mean you won't go to a Newsagents, Coffee Shop, Deli etc it just means you will go to more local outlets near to where you live, however lets be honest I'll bet if you are and have been working from home you don't go out as much as you did when you were in the office. Unless you are super lucky and live within a short walking distance of a deli or coffee shop, are you really going to go out during lunch, drive your car somewhere, pay for parking just to pick up a coffee/sandwich?, of course not you put the kettle on and make a sandwich yourself (I know I did exactly that when I was working from home full time)

Secondly (this is in my opinion is the main factor that many companies aren't taking into account just yet): I don't think working from home full time is healthy (apart from catching Covid from others etc), now before you disagree please hear me out on this.

As an employer if you are offering full time work from home then you need to think about two main things 1) The Well Being of your employee & 2) Will your employee feel as connected to your company as they have in the past? You might say that because the employee doesn't travel to work they are definitely less stressed as they may have more time for themselves i.e. work/life balance etc however I do believe its important that the employee has a clear divide between home and work life and being in a office will give this to them.

If the employee is working from home and they sit at their kitchen table for work, through time, work and home life will become a blur and people do absolutely need to segregate on this (especially if you have young children). Other factors to consider is if your employee is struggling and having a bad day, unless you are checking in every few hours, can you really see this without them being in the office? equally if the employee has just had success there's no one else in the team with them to celebrate their success with (this is really important). I remember when I worked from home full time in April/May 2020 and I had some really down days and being honest I felt more down then I've ever been before, no one even knew this so how can that be healthy for an employee). Of course you can do numerous check in calls, Zooms, Teams meets etc however in my opinion its not the same.

I've had a number of clients tell me they have great teams however since lock-down and allowing them full time work from home, a number of individuals in their teams have lost their edge and sharpness, they put this down to the them not physically working with others. Most humans are pack animals and we need others around us to function well. To prove my theory let me ask you a question: When you go for a meal, do you go on your own? (Nope, you go with others/partner/family), When you go out for a drink, do you go out by yourself ? Of course you don't unless you are a alcoholic, you go with others/friends/colleagues. Now don't get me wrong I do like my own company (sometimes) but not all the time and I think the set up moving forward should involve a good balance i.e. you should have some remote working but not 100%

Secondly as an employee, you cannot long term feel as connected with your team/company if you don't physically see/work with them (Mark my words this will be very dangerous for employers longevity of staff). If you work from home full time sure there will be some benefits (some listed above) however no amount of Zoom and Teams calls will substitute being in the same office with your colleagues and fellow workers.

Employers be warned as if another company comes along offering more money then why wouldn't the employee move on (especially if they aren't as connected to the business as they have been in the past) . Think of this as a relationship, if you going out with someone but never see then (only over Zoom/Teams/Telephone Calls etc) you may think you have a good relationship however it won't be amazing. Remember years ago you were in a relationship then one of you relocated and went to different University, how many of those relationships lasted (very few) and why was that? A) You didn't physically see each other (same as home working) B) they were in others company it diluted your connection (Family, personal friends are the only people they physically see) & C) Someone comes along shows them a greater interest and Boom there's goes the relationship and loyalty and that's because the person didn't feel as connected as they have in the past. So long term there is a greater chance if you offer 100% remote working there's a stronger chance for the employee to move on and its purely down to the connection isn't as strong as whats been in the past

So how do you navigate through this, my suggestion is have a balance of both, by all means offer some work from home but not 100% as long term this won't work (Do a Team A and team B set up like the clever clients are doing i.e. Team A goes into the offices on Monday and Tuesday and Team B go in on Wednesdays and Thursdays and everyone works from home on Fridays), that way you still have a nice blend of Work from Home whilst the employee has the benefits of feeling part of a team and community. Trust me the employer, employee and the small retail outlets that rely on people passing them will all benefit and that can't be a bad thing.

If you do want to offer a total 100% Work from home then come back to me in a years time and tell me that your staff tenure is as good as whats its been in the past - You have been warned !!