The CIPD has just issued a report on “Embedding new ways of working – implications for the Post-Pandemic Workplace”. Here’s what is says about working from home and productivity.
“Looking ahead, it is possible that changes in practice will strengthen the potential link between working from home and higher worker productivity post-crisis. Many employers will have learned a great deal about how to effectively manage people working from home and identified the main problems that need to be addressed during the crisis. Some of the lessons learned will be put into practice as homeworking arrangements become more extensive. Moreover, the fact that most employers (67%) found no negative impact can also be interpreted more positively – although the challenge for many employers will be to sustain this. It shows that promoting more homeworking in pursuit of other objectives such as better work–life balance can be pursued without lowering organisational productivity. The assumptions that led some employers to oppose or discourage flexible working requests might in some cases evaporate.”
But the prejudice against flexible working will not “evaporate” without a fight. Many managers fear that they will loose control of their staff if they don’t have them in the office for most of the time. Despite the evidence to the contrary, they still don’t believe that people will get on and do the job if they are left to their own devices. Previous CIPD data showed that “Negative attitudes of senior managers” was the second most significant barrier to flexible working, after the nature of the work, followed closely by “Negative attitudes of line managers”. There is now a growing need to retrain managers from their old, presenteeism based, ideas to the new world of hybrid working. The latest CIPD data shows that 46% of employer’s who intend to take action are planning to introduce management training.
The good news is that Wisework can offer that training for managers based on years of experience in flexible working. We have trained thousands of managers to embrace new ways of working and get the best from their staff and we are now offering a Hybrid Working Action Plan to get you started.