Many business leaders assume that the current trend of staff working from home is temporary while the UK manages the threat of coronavirus, and that we’ll eventually get back to more traditional working practices.
However, the truth is that the workplace will never be the same again postpandemic – and the workplace we go back to will be very different to the one we left.
Business leaders will need to develop a vision of what their own workplace is going to look like – for example are you going to have your staff – or a proportion of your staff – working from home permanently? And will that be for all or part of their working week?
When you consider increased concerns around safe-working post-pandemic, coupled with economic and environmental considerations, it’s likely that for a lot of companies there will be a desire for some element of home-working in certain roles.
Employers should be aware of things they need to consider. Under Section 2 of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, employers have a responsibility to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees. It’s okay thinking that by letting them work from home you are putting their safety first, but there are wider considerations. This includes both their physical and mental well-being.