The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has meant that many people have had to adapt and adjust to a brand-new way of working this year, including working remotely from home.
While it has been imposed by the government to ‘work from home if you can’, the question is whether remote working is a sustainable way of working for businesses as we go into 2021.
As with everything, there are pros and cons in all situations and it’s about determining whether the pros outweigh the cons or vice versa to really understand if working remotely is sustainable moving forward.
Another huge factor is that it’s impossible to impose a sweeping generalisation for every single remote worker or business as everyone is different and businesses function very differently. Luckily, technology has meant that most business functions can continue to operate without too much disruption which means that it is sustainable from that standpoint.
A key thing that must be at the forefront of whether or not working remotely is sustainable is yours or your employee’s health, mental and physical. Physically, it’s so important that you have the correct work set-up.
By failing to ensure that a workspace is adequate a series of health issues can occur, including back pain and eye strain which will negatively impact you or an employee and could lead to absenteeism and long-term health problems.
As well as this, mental health problems are increasing and it’s essential to ensure that you’re monitoring how you or your employee feels. Making sure that they are having fresh air, exercise and have access to support is hugely important in remote working being sustainable.
As well as office ergonomics, it’s important that you or your employee have the right equipment to be able to operate from a remote location. This will mainly help to increase productivity and efficiencies but also make life a lot easier.
Things such as a second screen, a separate mouse and keyboard so that a laptop can be placed on a riser are things that will make remote working much easier. As well as this, you may need a printer to be able to print and send out receipts, invoices and letters and extra office stationery.
This may be something that needs additional investment because, in an office environment, these types of stationery are usually a shared resource. It’s a good idea to try to buy these items in bulk and make sure things like printers are the same brands as it means that you could bulk buy, for instance, Canon ink for everyone rather than having to buy separate items for a range of brands and products.
An important factor in keeping remote working sustainable is being flexible. Everyone’s home situation will be different so it may not work as simply as 9-5, as it often does in an office. Therefore, it’s important that at the start of the week or month you outline what you or your employee should aim to achieve. This way, there is accountability in place with the flexibility for it to be completed however you or they want to divide their time. Although, it’s crucial that you don’t over-plan or have an unmanageable workload and you ensure that a work-life balance is implemented for remote working to be sustainable.
Time tracking tools can help an employee and employer to keep on top of where time is being spent and making sure that this is suitable while still being flexible.
Remote working can absolutely be sustainable into 2021 and beyond, after all, before Covid-19 many people were already successfully working remotely. There needs to be careful planning for it to work and there are many more considerations, but it definitely has many benefits and will certainly be important for it to continue in the near future.
