Do employees working from home make sense?

A very hot topic right now is "working from home" or "telecommuting"   or "virtual working" which turns the traditional office model on its head.

There are concerns across the board about accountability, productivity, loss of corporate control and loss of corporate culture.  

The amazing thing has been to see the increase and acceptance of the concept with some large companies showing increases in performance and efficiency in addition to reductions in employee turnover and drastic reductions in office rent.

One of the major reasons for increased productivity is reduced commute time.  Work life balance is now the second most important consideration for employees according to a recent study by EY that polled almost 10,000 workers across companies in the U.S., U.K., India, China, Germany, Mexico and Brazil.

Employees are working longer hours than ever before, and losing a commute or gaining the ability to escape unproductive meetings has proven to make employees happier, more engaged and they are more likely to stay with their company.  Technology allows metrics and KPI's to be tracked much more easily so technically there should be less concern for companies to wonder if their employee is actually just sitting on their couch eating Doritos in their underwear.

A major difference to consider in terms of the times changing, is that 78% of millennials have a spouse who is working full time with increasing hours,.  This contrasts to a typical baby boomer executive who is only 46% as likely to have a similar family situation.

The most important flexibility issues from the survey that had employees concerned were:

- a boss that does not support flexible hours

-a perception that people out of the office will be penalized

-a lack of option to work from home

-a feeling that senior executives are never dual income career families and do not understand the concept

If your company is getting feedback in exit interviews about excessive overtime hours, executives who shun flexibility, or a job that does not allow flexibility and has minimal advancement, you may want to take a harder look at flexible work arrangements for your employees.

Farewell,

Mike