Home office: a new professional standard?

Home office as a phenomenon has been a popular trend both globally and in Poland for several years already. Job candidates inquired after it and it was featured on the lists of benefits. During the COVID-19 pandemics, however, it has become a professional standard. Will home office remain with us for good?

According to a study conducted by CBRE and Grafton Recruitment in late 2019, as many as 86% of Polish employees wished to work from home at least one day a week. Employers tended to introduce home office solutions very carefully, however, treating it as one of attractive benefits.

Meanwhile, life has written its own story. Since mid-March 2020, most of us had to undergo a fast track intensive course on how to work from home. Forced by the COVID-19, the mass shift to home office posed a significant challenge for employers and employees alike. Has the whole process been successful?

OUT-OF-OFFICE BUT EFFICIENT

According to a study conducted by Gi Group and Grafton Recruitment in the second quarter of 2020, i.e. already after the pandemic outbreak, most organisations in Poland continue to operate remotely several months after the beginning of the pandemic and their employees declare their willingness to continue to work from home also in the future.

Almost 60% of employees would prefer to work from home one or two days per week, and the biggest group of respondents (31%) favours the two-day option. According to many specialists, it is the optimum number of days with respect to home office as it helps preserve the balance between teamwork and individual approach to allocated tasks.

Full-scale home office is not the right solution for everyone. Not everyone is well suited to working from home, not only because of requirements connected with respective positions but also because of individual predispositions. In order to work from home efficiently, one has to possess numerous skills, such as time management, independence, focus on goal completion, and perfect familiarity with teleworking tools. Other important individual features include punctuality, precision, discipline, communication skills, and openness (including to feedback).

It seems, however, that needs must: over 65% of employees working from home now feel they are more or at least as efficient as when working at the office. What is more, six out of ten respondents claim they know how to work remotely. Employees have even been noting an increase in their efficiency (over 20%) and the correct functioning of relevant processes within their organisations (54%). It is a natural “mobilisation effect”: everyone is trying to perform their professional tasks as best they can and feels responsible for the organisation they work for.

WHAT IS MISSING WHEN WORKING FROM HOME

Not everyone working from home is happy with this state of affairs, however. We asked employers about their experience with the “pandemic home office”. What are the main obstacles for them? What do they miss the most?

Initially, the challenges generally consisted in technical and organisational problems, such as slow Internet connection at home, no experience in using telework tools, no access to company drives with documents and databases, and the need to learn the operation of e.g. Dropbox or Google drives.

Planning task execution and reconciling professional and family obligations still poses a lot of problems to one-fourth of the respondents. As it is, it is difficult to separate private life from professional activity. Many employees also encounter issues with self-discipline and work planning. 18% of respondents claim they have no space to work, while 12% have no appropriate equipment. What people miss the most is contact with their colleagues (mentioned by 50% of respondents) and the exchange of information, opinions and discussions which drive their daily professional activity. Limited possibilities of teamwork, including consulting respective tasks, is one of the biggest impediments to home office.

It is becoming obvious we like spending time in areas dedicated to work as they naturally boost our efficiency and creativity. The main advantages of working at the office are: interacting with other employees (64% of respondents), interpersonal contacts (56%), and the possibility to exchange ideas (42%).

This is why regular online meetings are so important for the team also when working from home as they not only help maintain the rhythm of work, establish priorities, and allocate tasks, but also form an opportunity to brainstorm and maintain team spirit.

Meanwhile, what are the advantages of home office? All respondents have stressed they are not wasting time on commuting. Furthermore, they can be more flexible and independent in organising their work.

TAKING CARE OF THE OFFICE AT HOME, QUALIFICATIONS AND WELFARE

After the initial pioneer period, we have already become home office veterans. Dedicated IT teams have been established within organisations to solve technical problems encountered by telecommuters as they arise. Some organisations have equipped their employees not only with company laptops, screens, and headsets, but have also allowed them to take the company chairs.

Online courses enjoy a great deal of popularity in this period of isolation and telework. The Polish Chamber of Training Companies has observed that trainings in work time management ranked among the most popular recently, while managers favoured courses in managing virtual teams.

Various studies (including those conducted by Gi Group and Grafton) show that isolation is the biggest issue for employees. They miss contacts with their friends, family, and the world outside. This is why many employers promote the wellbeing of their employees working from home by offering online trainings (e.g. in managing energy during home office or positive thinking) as well as yoga and meditation classes.

The fact that employers are managing well with communicating the situation we are all in to their employees is an optimistic sign. Internal communication when working from home is a crucial element of organisational culture. Employees need information about the condition of their organisation and the planned changes. They also need to feel their employer is honest with them. When the situation comes back to normal, this open and transparent attitude may even suggest in a rise in trust towards the organisation.

Author: Magdalena Furs, Service & Delivery Director, Gi Group