Planning Your Return to work
JENNY COLLINS
EHS Consultant
EazySAFE
The Irish Government have issued an easing of COVID-19 restrictions with a phased return to the office, emphasising flexibility from 20 September 2021. This brings a lot of consideration and yet more change for Organisations. COVID-19 forced a mandatory ‘work from home’ arrangement from March 2020. Overnight, employers and employees had to create new ways of working and engaging from a distance, to regain autonomy and control over this life-changing experience (Trzebiński et al., 2020).
There have been enormous challenges with remote work during the pandemic yet despite this, many employees still prefer to work within this environment. Could this be because how we worked before the pandemic wasn’t working either??
For employers and workers returning post pandemic, there are 3 options:
-
Full remote
-
Full onsite
-
Hybrid.
Knowing what approach is right for your organization
Every approach has pros and cons. However, it is an opportunity for progressive leaders to understand what is right for their business, culture, and their people. Global surveys have gathered data suggesting option 3 as the most appealing work arrangement for employees. There is a new concept of working hours i.e., 3-2-2, where people would opt to work three days in the office, two from home, and off for the other two. Organisations that have implemented this structure have reported happier employees, higher productivity, and reduced absenteeism (Aradhya et al., 2021).
A full-time remote work arrangement can also be productive (Bloom et al., 2015) and gives the opportunity for a working arrangement that best suits the requirements of an individual’s private and professional life. In the event of a ‘work-from anywhere’ approach, there are tax, compensation, and benefit considerations. The impact on intangible assets such as human, relational, structural, and intellectual capital also need to be understood with this type of work environment (Radonic et al., 2021).
The impact a work environment can have on performance and well-being
Human and relational capital involves organisational and customer relationships. Structural capital consists mainly of processes and infrastructure. Studies on hybrid workplace models have indicated a positive effect on human and relational capital with higher levels of job satisfaction, employee engagement, and talent retention (Radonic et al., 2021). Moll and De Leede (2016) have shown that new ways of working enhance innovative work behaviour. Teleworking and flexible working hours were found to have a favourable impact on employee focus, creativity, and idea development. Distributed meetings software, unified communications and cloud-based platforms have made work environments less time and location-dependent (Williams and LaBrie, 2015).
