Can we really be trusted to get the job done?

Tuesday 29 September 2020

‘WFH’ has become the new norm for many of us. A blessing it may seem for most, but one that presents more than a few risks for our employers.

Express's workplace wellbeing columnist Emilia Summers delves into the issue...

"At home it is much harder to monitor performance, to determine how well we are carrying out our roles, or indeed, coping with these new set of circumstances. 

Working in our pyjamas, or drinking on the job, how can it be determined if employees are abiding by their company’s code of conduct, and does it even matter if work is being completed? Should we now just be trusted to get the job done as we see fit?

Following years of various low-level trials, companies are now making the decision to have working from home as a permanent arrangement for their staff, forced to adapt by the recent pandemic. Search the web and you’ll find heaps of positive stories of how working from home increased the productivity of businesses, making a very compelling case for those considering the flexible arrangement.

However, dig a little deeper under the surface and you’ll see it isn’t all roses. A short-term change in environment certainly provides less distractions and enabled employees to ‘knuckle down’, but over prolonged periods there started to emerge cases of declining mental health. 

Pictured: Over longer periods, WFH has been linked with declining mental health.

The move is also the quickest way to highlight inequality as you will have those who work in far from ideal circumstances at their home. Many may not have the facilities to create an office space, access to natural light, or in the summer months vital air-conditioning! As an employer you are obligated to create a safe workspace for employees and to protect their mental wellbeing, meaning that if a home environment is not conducive to this, they should continue to work in the office. 

I’ve long been an advocate that there are no hard and fast rules that work for all of us when it comes to productivity and success. Some of us are night owls and can work late into the night, or perhaps like me, you prefer to be up at the crack of dawn and get your best work done in the early hours. There are people that take regular breaks and others that prefer to get their head down until the job is done. The trick is being perceptive enough to recognise these traits, and using them to your advantage, conveying them to your line manager to see how your company may be able to accommodate you best.  

We’ve all secretly known for some time that those on part-time contracts can actually produce the same amount of workload as the rest of us, able to apply themselves more diligently for smaller periods of time than those on full working hours. And whilst there has been talk of four-day working weeks, what is there to now stop us working less hours within the privacy of our home, if output remains the same? 

Suddenly, trustworthiness has crept to the top of top of the pile in attributes employers will want from their staff. Trust has become prime currency in our post-covid-19 world. We are entrusted to do a job, to work hard without direct oversight because we are integral to the survival of most businesses. In return, there is more flexibility than most had ever dreamed of and the chance to form our working days as we see appropriate. 

Pictured: WFH is all about trust.

Communication is key to forming a basis of trust for employer and employee. Clearly articulating what it is you’d like to achieve and if necessary, offering them platforms through which to discuss, share and collaborate on ideas. Openness and transparency will go hand-in-hand from both parties and regular check-ins will make you feel valued and supported. Replacing staff is bound to be more costly and difficult with a WFH policy in place, giving companies all the more motivation to ensure that teams are happy, loyal, trustworthy and ultimately retained. 

Whilst we would all like to consider ourselves trustworthy, a lot depends on your personality. Are you the type of employee that works well under their own steam? Can you be left to your own devices and hit targets and reach goals? Or are you someone that needs a more authoritarian approach, constant reward or perhaps to bounce ideas off others? Now more than ever it’s important that we recognise what environments and stimulus causes us to thrive and to try to recreate these as far as possible. 

I am one of those lucky ones who can work anywhere with trust and flexibility. But given the option I choose the office every time.

I don’t like not being able to separate my working day from my homelife, and find work tends to take over at home when there are no longer any clearly defined boundaries. I recognise I perform best in a group environment and need the interaction of others to stave off loneliness. 

Pictured: Working together physically can be good for teamwork.

Of course, there will always be that one who ruins it for the masses, which is why businesses have to set rules in the first place. Expect more technology helping us to manage teams at home to come to the market. Innovative new ways of managing your time, evaluating productivity and surveys checking in on how employees are feeling. Companies will need to implement new WFH policies with clear consequences of what will happen when trust breaks down.

Whether we can be trusted to work from home remains to be seen as companies start the journey to building up these relationships with their workers, creating and maintaining a very fine balance between choice and trust. Trust that people know themselves well enough to make the correct choices, but be prepared that there will always be those who don’t."

This article first appeared in Connect Magazine, which you can read HERE.