Remote working during the pandemic

Advice for organisations on remote working:​

• Remote working should not be seen as an easy option, it requires considerable management, time and effort to make it work successfully

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• Trust between the manager and the employee is vital. People need to be left to work autonomously. Many people have reported overworking under lockdown because they felt they needed to be ‘seen’ to be working hard and felt guilty when they took a break.

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• There must be regular communication with the manager and wider team

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• Mental wellbeing needs to be seen by employers as a vital part of their responsibilities. Training for all managers is recommended. This is particularly important now, given the new skill of spotting signs and opening up communications via video calls rather than in 1 to 1 meetings

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• An appropriate home environment and the necessary equipment.

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• When some people begin returning to offices and others continue working from home, it is essential that a good balance is struck. Studies have suggested that spending more than 2.5 days a week working away from the office is associated with a deterioration in the quality of co-worker relationships, with job satisfaction decreasing and plateauing after 15 hours. This will vary, some people will be fine with more and it’s important that people’s suitability is considered. The reports have some recommendations on this score.

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Find out more:

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