A survey conducted by the British Chambers of Commerce has led to several conclusions on the new working situation.
The New Working Environment
A lot of businesses are likely to adopt more flexibility in working arrangements. The top reasons for using increased homeworking as a permanent business model are: reducing overheads, improved staff wellbeing and the ability to recruit from a wider geographic range.
Some businesses initially described a productivity boost from home working. Staff generally liked the new arrangements, gaining time by avoiding daily commute and travelling to and from in-person meetings.
However, with the pandemic wearing on, more and more issues with remote working arose. The relationship with customers has changed. Regular online interaction became an expectation, and many hours of the day were lost to video calls. Several businesses stated that they have provided a higher level of service but without the increase in fee to match.
Several businesses also raised concerns about the remote management of employees. This concern was mainly about ensuring that staff were doing what they were supposed to whilst working from home.
Particularly senior employees reported longer working hours. Most employees also didn’t go on holidays and worked more or less constantly sine the start of the pandemic. Many businesses were very concerned about employee burnout.
Several businesses adopted a task-based approach to management. This means that it did not matter if the work was done in two hours or eight hours, as long as it got done. Critical business processes, such as staff onboarding and training have been moved online.
Employee Wellbeing
The pandemic demonstrated the importance of employee wellbeing and mental health. More than half of the participants of the survey reported that their wellbeing is being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. This includes boredom, loneliness, anxiety and stress.
There were a few examples of how employee wellbeing has improved during the pandemic. For example, spending more time with the family and forming closer bonds with colleagues in difficult circumstances. However, these positive impacts were in many cases far outweighed by negative ones. Many employees became frustrated and lonely because of the dramatic reduction in social interaction in both professional and private life. Most concerns were raised for employees working from small living spaces, and those who were previously people-facing as part of their job roles.
Several businesses noted that video call conversations made body language harder to read and therefore making it more difficult to recognize when someone is not well. In addition, managers were not used to such a high volume of wellbeing issues, which became emotionally draining for them in return. “At the moment it is not work from home, it is living at work.” – survey participant of a recruitment firm.
Businesses had to learn how to recognize wellbeing and mental health issues. One business set up group sessions so that staff could talk about the issues affecting them. Many staff engagement programs such as quizzes, virtual yoga and dancing lessons were held to support employees.
Effective Communication
During the pandemic employers had to communicate with employees in new ways, especially those whose job security was threatened. People had to adapt to the increasingly online world. In UK 9% of families were estimated not to have a laptop or tablet at home.
Many people were concerned about losing their job and it was important to offer them reassurance where appropriate. Where job security was actually under threat, employers had to have video calls, which was new and challenging for all concerned.
Putting staff on vacation raised its own communication issues. Employers needed to check in on furloughed workers regularly to let them know what was happening with their job and the company. There were stories about how devalued staff felt when they have not been contacted during their time on furlough.
Office interactions were stated to be productivity enhancing and it was hard to replicate these while working remotely. Examples might be asking for a password, going to the IT desk with a query or simply learning about what was happening within other parts of the business. “Despite many people using online calls for ages, there is still stuff that gets lost in online conversations. This can make communication difficult.”, survey participant of a tech company.
Moving to remote working has put up barriers to communication. For example, staff meetings could not happen like they used to. Businesses also had to communicate to their employees on entirely new subjects, such as how to stay Covid-secure in the workplace and to stay aligned to the guidelines. Different communication channels were used, such as instant messaging videos and voice notes, texts and social media groups.
