The last 6 months and what the future could hold
We recently undertook a survey at Wade Macdonald (Click here to download our report) reviewing the impact of the pandemic and trying to establish people’s thoughts on working from home during this period. With little choice in suddenly moving people to work from home during the Covid 19 period we were keen to understand what people liked and disliked and what improvements could be made to future working from home scenarios.
Some of the results from respondents working from home during the Covid pandemic:
· 73.4% have a dedicated work space (although for some, myself included, the dedicated workspace was my dining table.
· 31.5% found it easier / much easier to work from home whilst 33.3% found it a little harder – reviewing the additional information and clarifying this further led us to understand that this was in part due to factors that people felt were not in their control (issues faced are listed below).
· 80% stating employers have made provisions and communicated effectively on returning to the office post the lockdown period. With many aiming to be back into an office environment by September but also a large number of people we have spoken to are now suggesting they will not be back in offices until January 2021.
The common issues that people faced during the pandemic when they had to adjust to working from home included:
· Communication – more regular contact was one of things people thought should have happened during the lock-down, especially for people that had been furloughed.
· Flexibility – understanding working, home schooling, looking after shielded people whilst also trying to work full time.
· Limitation of the technology and lack of equipment – covering everything from broadband connections to physical access to laptops and mobile phones.
We have been working to ensure we are supporting our clients and candidates during this time and offering advice and guidance where possible.
With an overwhelming majority of the people who responded to the survey suggesting that they would prefer 3 – 4 days working from home would be keen to know how this works for you?
· Are you a business that is going to offer working from home more as a result of the pandemic?
· What plans do you have in place to ensure effective communication with people working from home?
· How to do you feel you have coped with change in the demands your business has faced from employees?
We are keen to hear thoughts and share these with a wider community to help businesses understand what they may need to consider moving forwards.
Caterina Glenn