There’s no doubting that the Corona Virus Pandemic has accelerated the change in thought about working from home.
Pre-pandemic there was a movement towards home working that was gaining interest, with some enlightened tech savvy companies seeing it as a positive move and a definite work life balance perk for employees in job roles where the technology could support it.
However, for most businesses home working was still viewed with suspicion and an “easy ride” for employees.
Post pandemic we are seeing a totally different landscape where many companies have been forced to introduce home working, place trust in their staff, and invest in the technology to make it happen.
The result of this is that technology has improved massively to cope with the demand, and employers are seeing many positive benefits from more productive employees to huge savings made from closing expensive offices.
Similarly, many employees are reaping the benefit of flexible home working from reduced mindless commuting in rush hour traffic to savings on workwear, lunch and refreshments, and less stress from office politics.
Of course, home working doesn’t suit everybody. A large number of people miss the comradery of the workplace, and many feel isolated, left out and anxious about their job security.
This is where the employer must step up and realise that they still have the same obligations and duty of care to people working from home as they would do people working from an office or any other workplace.
On this page you will find links to articles outlining the employer’s obligations to home based workers, and of course the obligations employees have to caring for their own safety and following advice and training provided by their employer.