MANAGEMENT NOVEMBER /DECEMBER 2020
HOME ALONE
With home working becoming increasingly popular, managers and employees have had
to adapt to a new way of working – but how many are adequately prepared to do so?
BY CHRIS BECK
Since March, many
employees across
the UK and beyond
have been working
from home. Even in
the manufacturing
sector, many back-of-house
and support staff have turned
their living rooms and spare
bedrooms into office spaces.
As a result, video
conferencing has given us
the chance to see into our
colleagues’ homes, meet their
pets and drastically change
our relationship with those
we work with – and manage.
According to Nicola Kibble,
head of HR & legal commercial
services at Make UK, this
changing dynamic has brought
unforeseen challenges and has
forced a shift in management
techniques as we all adapt to a
new way of working.
First and foremost, this is a
longer-term shift than anyone
could have expected when the
first lockdown was announced
back in March. This has meant
that home-workers have had
to put up with, in some cases,
sub-optimal working conditions
for months and months. It
looks like it’s here to stay,
as well. A study by the CIPD
from July this year found that
home-working is set to double
post-coronavirus. Almost two
in five (37%) employees will
be working from home on a
regular basis once the crisis is
over, according to employer
predictions made as part of
A decidated
office space
is vital for a
successful home
working culture
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the research, compared to just a fifth (18%) who
did so before lockdown. Additionally, businesses
expected the proportion of staff working from
home all the time to increase from 9% before the
pandemic to 22%.
“It’s crucial to remember that ‘working from
home’ and being a ‘home worker’ are not the same
thing,” says Kibble. “If you’re lucky enough to
have a dedicated home working space, such as an
office or a spare bedroom, that is properly set up
and you can shut the door on it at the end of the
day or at the weekend, that’s great. However, if
you’re working on your sofa or on your bed, it’s
entirely different, and really isn’t suited to the
long-term situation we find ourselves in.”
It stands to reason that those people who are
working in inappropriate conditions are also going
to be less productive than those with a dedicated
office space. Perhaps understandably, there is very
little research to back this up, as any previous
studies into home-working and productivity have
focused on people with a proper set-up.
“What we do know, though, is that people who
have other people in a common workspace, such
as kids or relatives, are under a lot more stress,”
says Kibble. “If they’re on a video call they need
to make sure people are quiet – I’ve seen people
doing video calls in the bathroom so they can
shut the door, which is obviously completely
unacceptable. It puts them in a stressful
situation. There are people who have difficulties
with controlling their family while they’re
working – but they’re sat in common family
space; they can’t shut their kids away in their
rooms while they work. There are lots of benefits
to home working, but companies too often don’t
think of the wider implications of it. Something
we do at Make UK as part of our cultural change
programme is give an understanding of the issues
that can come with it.”
In addition, there is also the added
psychological burden that comes with
homeworking. ‘Working from home’ very quickly
turns into ‘living at work’, with no break from
the stresses of home life that would come from
leaving the house to go to work. As a result, bad
practices – or unhealthy relationships – can easily
creep in or grow.
“From a welfare point of view, people often
think ‘great, I get to work from home’,” says
Kibble. “They see the savings in commuting time
and more flexibility. But there are also people
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