The 1920’s held conflict over the Old and New, and now a century on, it’s revisited through the effects of the pandemic.
As Prime Minister Boris Johnson approves the opening of office spaces in the UK, business owners have mixed feelings about ditching the home working scheme. In a survey of 100 UK workers, 65% shared that they would rather work from the office. But what about the 35% who disagree? Many think it is unfair to push employees into the working environment when anxieties are still surrounding the pandemic heavily, but for those who are sitting on the fence, we explored the pros and cons for you.
Advantages of your Team Working Online
Flexibility
Everyone is different which means employees work better at different times. Employee times could be allocated in slots that the manager is aware of. This then improved focus and quality of work, as everyone is working at their own pace.
Access
The magical thing about the world of technology is its ability to connect individuals from all around the world. This is a huge advantage for your company, as it gives you the ability to search for future employees who are outside of your local area. This entitles you to the best task force for you.
Punctuality
There is nothing worse than a traffic jam or the dreaded rush hour of the day. Working from home means that your employees have no excuse in being late, provided they have the suitable equipment for the day. Your employees also waste less time travelling, which enables the team more time to prepare for the day of work ahead.
Disadvantages of your Team Working Online
Finances
The office space you provide for your employees is there for their use. This takes a cut of money in maintaining it as a safe, healthy and comfortable place. If this space isn’t necessarily getting used, the workspace is becoming a bit of a drain on finances. Furthering this, if employees are working from home, you may want to facilitate them with the correct equipment to ensure that they have all they need in working from home. This can become too expensive when enduring both.
Productivity Levels
With employees in their own spaces, distractions could occur. This could come in the form of children or maybe even housemates. It is hard as a manager to keep an eye on productivity when you cannot peer over the shoulder of an employee.
Limited access to information
With the appearance of lockdown, zoom has become increasingly popular. But it will never be as fast as walking through the office to another employee to ask any relevant questions. This cuts productivity to a large extent.
Our Advice
Our advice at Admire PR would be for you, the business owner, to provide a structure for those not ready to go in.
This includes educating your employees on the appropriate way to work from home. This ensures that all health and safety measures can be taken from home, and you can ensure your employees the most effective ways to set up your workspace. Weekly or maybe even daily catch ups over zoom should be mandatory, to ensure your employees are effectively working, and that their wellbeing is intact.
