A solid business case for implementing a work-from-home policy
Why do people go to work? It might seem like a silly thing to ask, but the key to the question lies in the word ‘go’. In an age where almost everybody has a computer and phone in their own home, it is entirely possible for many jobs to be done entirely from home.
However, whilst the benefits are widely documented, including reduced presenteeism, increased wellbeing and allowing employees to juggle commitments, convincing the Board to allow staff the freedom to work from wherever they choose to, can be tricky. A cultural shift is still required, despite the Timewise Foundation finding as many as 87% of employees either work flexibly or wish they could.
Listed below is the HR professional’s guide to kickstarting that conversation in your organisation, and building a business case to let your staff work from home.
When proposing increased working-from-home option, your board is unlikely to be swayed by anything other than a solid business case. These five arguments, however, demonstrate that working from home is likely to help your business rather than hinder it.
- It’s a pay raise for your employees that’s totally free for you
Commuting is expensive. Research from Quidco.com has found that the average worker spends almost a sixth of their wages on commuting – whether that’s fuelling the car or shelling out for a train ticket. Letting your staff work from home, can be argued, is equivalent to a pay rise, at absolutely no cost to you.This salary boost could be the deciding factor in new talent joining your business, and it might convince the staff you have invested in to stick around for longer.
- It improves your employee’s work/life balance and well being
Moovit research at the end of 2016 found that more Britons endure “marathon commutes” than anyone else in Europe – with many facing journey times of two hours or more.And all that time rushing to work is hurting your employee’s health, too. Research by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) discovered that the longer your commute, the lower your feelings of happiness, life satisfaction and the sense that your activities are worthwhile; and the higher your anxiety compared with non-commuters.Letting your staff work from home immediately provides freedom from that stress and gives them extra hours in the day for personal time to unwind from work. They might be able to use that time to go to the gym, cook a healthy meal from scratch, or take a well-needed break – resulting in less sick time.
- It saves you money on office space
When you hire or buy an office, you accept that there will be costs involved. Heating, plumbing, electricity, rent and other little costs all add up. However, the smaller the space you need is, the smaller these costs will be.It might not be practical to have all your staff working from home all the time, but by planning who will need a space and when, you can allow employees to share workstations – meaning you can keep the office space you require to a minimum.
- It helps the environment
This one is pretty obvious – by taking cars off the road, you’re automatically reducing the amount of pollution being pumped into the atmosphere to get your staff from place to place. If your office has green targets, this is one way to very simply help to meet them.You could consider calculating how much carbon you can help to prevent in one year. It’s bound to be an impressive stat.
- It boosts productivity
Yes, you read that right. Working from home doesn’t encourage employees to skive off, but in fact, motivates them to work better. Chinese firm CTrip held an experiment where they allowed some of their staff to work from home and compared the number of calls they made with their office-bound colleagues. The remote workers ended up making 13.5% more calls – the equivalent of an extra day’s work per week.In a situation where productivity maybe a question, this boost could be just what you need to get back on track.
But What About The Setbacks?
Of course, there are still some downsides to consider. Here’s how to combat the common responses you’ll hear when suggesting working from home opportunities.
- People want to be in the office
Often, people want to demonstrate their commitment by making sure they are always in their seat through their working hours. It’s up to you to inform people that working from home won’t damage their promotion prospects or reflect badly on them.
- Employees don’t have the right tech at home
This could be a major problem – if you hire somebody who can’t afford a flashy computer, they might have to come in despite really preferring to work from home. Could you offer them an advance on their salary that can be paid back over a suitable time period? Or, perhaps your company could consider providing staff with company laptops as a smart way to get around this issue.
- How do you know your employees are actually working if you can’t see them?
Turn this one around: ‘Why are we hiring people we can’t trust to do their jobs?’ You should be able to let your employees out of your sight and know they’ll put in just as much effort as they would if they were in the office with you watching.
The next step
After convincing your senior leaders to implement working from home, you’ll need to ensure it is a success. Here’s how:
- Measure output
You told your senior leaders that staff wouldn’t skive off – and you should ensure that is the case. Ask employees to tell their managers what they plan to do on their days working from home so their output can be measured.
- Set the tone from the top
You promised your staff that working from home wouldn’t harm their career prospects – and what better way to demonstrate that than by convincing a senior leader to do it? Once staff observe their bosses are happy to work flexibly, they will be more inclined to follow suit.
- Keep communication open
A downside to working from home is the lack of face-to-face interaction with colleagues. You should find ways to ensure that dialogue stays available at all times – consider a programme such as Slack so your employees can chat throughout the day, both to support their work and help maintain a friendly atmosphere
