Month: January 2022

Even though working from home is not a new concept, it took a worldwide pandemic to make remote work the default option for those who are capable of doing so. In light of the pandemic, everyone was given an opportunity to reevaluate how to do business and according to a McKinsey & Co. survey, fifty percent of workers say they don’t want to return to the office full time after working from home in March 2020.

Covid-19 has helped change the perception of working from home as something that is only temporary and fleeting in nature. Instead, employers now see it as a long-term trend that will only continue to grow in the coming years. 

The following are some of the reasons why wfh will be around for a long time:

1. Increased productivity and better focus

There is growing interest in hybrid virtual models that combine time spent working remotely with time spent in the office as organizations prepare for the post pandemic future. This sensible decision is the result of the pandemic’s positive impact on productivity.

Employees who participated in a McKinsey consumer survey in May indicated that working remotely was a more productive option. From April to May, the number of people who said they worked more productively went up by 45 percent as a result of their experience working remotely during the pandemic.

2. Flexibility

By eliminating the need to be physically co-located with coworkers, WFH increases employee autonomy and productivity by allowing them to work independently and on their own schedules, all while saving time spent commuting. In order to achieve the hybrid model, employers take advantage of the best of both worlds by designating certain types of tasks for home and others for the office and benefiting from the advantages of focused productivity from remote work and collaboration from in-person work. Tasks that require employees to avoid distractions are better suited to the workplace, while those that require creativity are better suited to the home, where they have more freedom to explore their own ideas.

3. Surge in market competition

With more and more people choosing to work from home, the labor market is increasing. About 800 percent more people applied for remote project and program management positions; accounting and finance positions increased by 750 percent; and HR and legal positions increased by nearly 550 percent. HR departments now have to evolve quickly and accelerate their ability to be much more efficient in the hiring process. 

4. Improvement in diversity

There is a need to retain the very best talent, and those are humans from all walks of life, who live in all sorts of different places. It is established that teams with a wide range of backgrounds are more productive. As a result, their decisions are more sound. It is easier for them to represent their customers. All of the things that make healthier organizations are fueled by a diverse workforce. 

5. Progress in tech

It doesn’t matter what paradigms or platforms companies use, digital-first business models will be permanent in the coming years. Because of this, employers are quickly investing in technology and raising the bar on their strategy for how they are to participate and collaborate in the digital era. This then also influences employees to hone their discovery and experimentation skills to the next level.

There is no doubt that remote work is here to stay, but the real question is just how much of it will. Let’s hope that employers take the evidence into consideration and keep at least 60% to 80% of their work at home. Investment in digital infrastructure and the release of office space, as well as a structural transformation of cities, food services, commercial real estate and retail, will be necessary to achieve this. Having employees work outside the office necessitates a major overhaul of many business processes and policies, however, this is a risk that employers are willing to take to advance into the digital future.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the health and well-being of employees became more critical than ever. According to a survey by Artemis, benefits leaders who prioritize employee health as a top priority have increased from 2019 to 2020. At 61%, health and wellness was cited as the most important benefit goal for 2020, up from just 36% in 2019. 

To help keep employees healthy and safe, employers and HR leaders, who are often viewed as the gatekeepers of employee health, have implemented new strategies and benefits. 

1. Flexible benefits to focus on healthcare management

Increasingly, flexible benefits plans are being used to satisfy workers’ desire for choice in areas such as healthcare coverage, insurance, and vacation days. This is most beneficial for healthcare availments which employees can customize in accordance with their own needs and contexts. 

2. Hybrid work policies

In order to ensure that every employee receives the care they need and deserve, HR teams will need to offer flexible benefits that can be tailored to their location, be it onsite or from their homes. In order to alleviate these issues, decision-makers should work together to develop a hybrid work policy that outlines the eligibility criteria and what the expectations of a hybrid employee are, including how many hours they are expected to work per day, whether or not they are expected to come into the office space, and what health benefits are supported with that hybrid model.

3. Flexible leaves to address health crisis

Employers must make informed workforce decisions with contingencies, especially when it comes to leaves, as we cannot predict the future or if another COVID-19 spike will occur. Flexible and compassionate policies allow employees to carry over negative vacation/PTO balances and dip into future accruals, which some employers are now adopting as their standard practice.

4. Business Continuity Plan to administer employee benefits

Increasing competition for top talent and longer workdays in the United States have prompted companies to significantly expand their employee benefits. Even though a good coffee machine and personal computer once sufficed, today’s professionals expect benefits such as free or heavily subsidized on-site meals, childcare, laundry services, and transportation.

Hence, business continuity planners must account for the full range of goods and services their employees could lose access to in the event of a natural disaster in order to ensure their well-being and avoid operational disruptions. 

5. Mental Wellness

Three-quarters of employers in the recent McKinsey and Company national survey designated a mental health leader, with a subset of approximately 40% appointing them to executive roles in mental health. They are in charge of evaluating benefits, making sure that employees have access to treatment, keeping tabs on their well-being and mental health requirements, and overseeing programs for behavioral health in the workplace. 

Rather than simply providing employees with the number for the employee assistance program, HR can also take on a more proactive role in assisting employees to address their healthcare concerns as a means  to better understand the organization and how it operates.