Covid-19 has dramatically accelerated the changes that were already happening to how we work - the Future of Work is here. Being flexible and agile has never been more important for employers and technology has transformed the way that many of us work.
Since March, a large proportion of the working population has been working from home and will continue to do so. This sudden move to agile working looks like it is here to stay for many people. Certainly clients are now considering a permanent move to agile working. We recently hosted a webinar with LinkedIn and Schroders and 78% of attendees said they anticipated staff working from home more often and 16% said they anticipated 50% of staff working from home full-time. So how to prepare for the future?
Revisiting the pre- Covid-19 norm should also be viewed as an opportunity to introduce a more inclusive work environment. Technology has acted as a leveller and in many cases team dynamics have been reset resulting in strengthened working relations. But it's also important to support managers who may feel left behind, to continue to actively manage their teams and develop skills to support, mentor and manage staff who they may not see face to face for most of the time.
As employees' expectations of flexible working change, businesses may need to take a more flexible approach to agile working if they want to recruit and retain the best talent. But working from home or working remotely from the office can have some unintended consequences which employers will need to think about. What should an employer contribute to help employees invest in tech and other equipment to work from home; will city based workers still attract a "London weighting" if they can be based anywhere; can employees work from overseas and will the employer be liable for local employment rights and taxes?
We can help you put in place watertight homeworking arrangements fit for the Future of Work. We offer a range of fixed price products:
- An online meeting to discuss all issues you will need to consider including contracts, health and safety, tax, insurance, data protection, remote supervision, employee wellbeing and reasonable adjustments.
- An agile working checklist.
- An agile working policy.
- Any necessary amendments to your existing contracts.
- Advice on the implementation of your agile working arrangements.
- An equality impact assessment to identify any groups within your workforce who may be affected by long term remote or agile working.
Please contact us if we can help you shape your steps to agility.
