Working from home is a model of business that allows employees in suitable jobs such as administration, clerical etc to work long-distance from their place of employment. This ensures that businesses can continue running even when restrictions may prevent employees from coming to the workplace, such as length of commute, office renovations, and others. The advantages to working from home are evident – primarily there is no commute time, and as such businesses will be able to expect employees to attend their contracted hours easily, and employees will be more comfortable working in an environment which they regard as safe. It may also reduce instances of harassment, both physical and verbal by establishing distance barriers.
Conversely, it may also result in a lack of attachment to the business and lack of motivation for employees, as they may have little exposure over time to the professional environment that working on-site provides. They may also suffer technological problems and a lack of discipline, resulting in missed deadlines.
It is strongly suggested that a “Working from home” guide is created for such employees, the main element would focus on Display Screen Equipment regulations, just because an employee works from home does not absolve employers from all health and safety liabilities.
The drawbacks and disadvantages to long-distance working
There are many advantages to this, as it generally means businesses will not feel the costs that would usually be included under maintaining working space and regulations. This does not, however, consider the other pressures service-providing businesses feel, such as their client base and the necessity for attaching a friendly customer-facing employee to a business. As such, businesses who rely on foot traffic may find themselves in worse positions during the move to working from home.
However, working from home presents a logistical problem to businesses and organisations – without clear cut offices and employees which management can speak to directly, new work from home procedures could reduce the efficiency of how teams do their jobs, furthermore, as employees will be working from home, there are technological limits that may reduce the ability of employees to meet their usual work standards.
Companies that use in-house bespoke systems may have to adapt these to be used on the devices of everyone at home. New government regulations must be taken up by businesses, resulting in extra administrative strain, especially on small and new organisations. The move to working from home reduces the social aspect of work – this may distance or fail to form working relationships between employees who have never met. Businesses will need to invest in their employees more than ever – requiring certain technology to be present in the homes of their workers, ensuring that they attend meetings and complete work by the deadline.
It is not, however all negative. According to a 2019 survey, the sample size indicates that 65% of professionals believe that working from home has benefited their productivity, and 49% feel that their home office allows them to buckle up and get work done. Naturally, this means that businesses subjectively benefit from happier, more productive employees which reduce non-attendance and increase their profits, where applicable. It is important that businesses can support their employees during difficult times, and beyond, especially if they adopt a long-term work from home model. Working from home will likely be a common sight amongst large and small businesses alike in the future, as it provides a wealth of benefits and presents manageable downsides.
Health and Safety Regulations
Businesses need to keep their employees safe during the period they are working from home, if no specialist equipment is needed then employees must be made aware of health and safety regulations. These will mainly be the prolonged use of display screen equipment (DSE), such as PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones. The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations apply to workers who use DSE daily, for an hour or more at a time.
The health and safety executive describe these workers as ‘DSE users. The regulations don’t apply to workers who use DSE infrequently or only use it for a short time. Because of the autonomy element, there can be an argument that the standard checks for safety that would be in the workplace, such as drinks on desks, not logging off your computer is popping to the loo and so on will be impossible to monitor, as such an element of trust and common sense exists.
Wherever practical employers should:-
- Conduct a DSE workstation assessment, if this is deemed necessary
- Inform workers of the recommended breaks
- Provide an eye test if a worker asks for one
- Provide any training that may be required
Incorrect use of DSE or poorly designed workstations or work environments can lead to pain in the necks, shoulders, backs, arms, wrists and hands as well as fatigue and eye strain. The causes may not always be obvious.
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