We’ve listed the things workers won’t miss about home working and what to think about when going hybrid
We all have our own unique answer to the question ‘what are you not going to miss about lockdown?’, but what do workers think of it? We’ve surveyed over 1.000 UK employees that have worked from home during lockdown and asked people expecting to go back to the office what they’re happy to see the back of and guide you through how you can use it to your advantage in the new workplace.
We’ll take you through the top 5 things workers aren’t going to miss about WFH. By grasping what parts of remote work won’t be missed you’ll better understand how to best make use of the time you have together in the office with your employees. We also give you some useful tips and tricks to keep in mind to give workers what they want and need in the ever evolving new norm.
Download the full report here.
What employees don’t like about working remotely
Here are the top 5 things workers can’t wait to see the back of when going back to the office and we’ve also included advice on how to go back to the office while keeping these things in mind.
Naturally, workers’ mental health is going to improve when general mental wellbeing improves and when mental health goes up labour turnover is likely going to go down. We all need to help out with making this a fresh start whilst respecting the needs of employees.
1. Staring at the same four walls
What workers reported as the most grating thing about working from home was, not to anyone’s surprise, only seeing the same four walls day in and day out. It’s clear that we all need a little change of scenery after lockdown and clearly that applies to home working too.
How you can help your employees with this post lockdown
While only 15% said they wanted to go back to the office full time it’s still important to offer support in order to help with a change of scenery when work from home partly continues. There are a few things you can do to make things easier for your employees and support them with getting some change of scenery post lockdown and yet make sure everyone is safe.
Keep meeting up and think outside the box
Meeting up with colleagues is something most employees are looking forward to with 87% reporting it’s important for their mental health. Be creative with the how and stay alert to what everyone is comfortable with. Maybe meeting outside is an option? Or how about helping workers that live close to each other meeting up for a lunch walk? Try to think outside the box regarding the hows and wheres.
Meet up after work
To help improve workers’ mental health you don’t necessarily need to meet during work hours – maybe meeting after work is a better solution for you and your team? This might be a good solution if you no longer have an office space but still see the importance of making going back to the office fun and exciting.
If you’re looking to plan a team social you might want to take the time to browse our top 10 team social ideas in London.
2. Too much isolation
This is similar to the previous point – workers are going to want to get out and spend time with coworkers. The feeling of isolation is slightly different though as it’s a more abstract experience rather than the actual space you’re in. After a long time of involuntarily being locked in the same house it’s about time we do something big – why not take this chance to host a Christmas party out of the ordinary? See our list of the best Christmas party venues in London.
What you can do to break your employees’ feelings of isolation
You can help your employees in multiple ways to ease the feeling of isolation and it’s not always going back to the office that’s going to do the trick. The feeling can linger for quite a while and you need to be creative when thinking about how to adjust to what the new workplace might look like.
Ask and listen to workers
Remember to ask your employees what they want and need but don’t forget to pay attention to how they feel. What’s the main reason they may feel isolated and is it getting better when hybrid working? If not you might need to think about how to help workers feel less isolated and maybe the answer isn’t always just office work. Try to fully understand the needs of your employees in order to tailor the new workplace after them.
Limit the number of unknowns
Although it’s what most of us want, many people are experiencing anxiety about going back to work and adjusting to the new normal. Dr Renju Joseph highlights in Priory that anxiety about things such as going back to the office often relate to the unknown. When making your own unique roadmap for going back to the office a good trick is to communicate with employees in good time before setting the ball in motion. This will hopefully make change less anxiety-inducing for everyone and it’ll also make it easier for you to backtrack what works and what doesn’t work.
Stay flexible
Although workers are tired of their own home it’s key to stay flexible in order to keep everyone happy as the flexibility we’ve all gotten used to isn’t something we’re keen to lose. Forbes lists this as one of the most important things workplaces can offer to employees going forward.
Schedule a team away day
In order to help reducing the feeling of isolation a good idea might be to schedule a team away day instead of being in the office more often. Check out our list of the best team away days in London to get some inspiration.
3. Working from their bedroom/kitchen/dining table/lounge
Not having a dedicated workspace is something that people working from home have grown tired of that you might want to keep in mind as an employer. Especially younger employees might have this problem as they’re more likely to be living with a lot of other people or in other ways have very limited space.
Things to think about when hybrid working
As many of us are going to stay working from home at least a few days of the week it’s high time to think about the environment that people are working in. Here are some top tips for the continuance of home working and hybrid working.
health and safety when Working from home
When the initial chaos of lockdown has settled it might be time for you to think about the health and safety aspect of working from home and how it might be compromised. Offer employees the necessary tools to, if possible, build an office space that is better in an ergonomic sense; this might include helping out with chairs and screens. As an employer it’s your duty to make sure to look after your employees safety when working from home according to Slater Gordon Lawyers. With 1 in 4 employees suffering from back pain from working from home (National Accident Helpline) it might be a good idea to provide help, support and guidelines for your employees.
Be creative with where you work
Maybe you no longer have an office after realising it’s not always necessary in order to get the work done. Although it might still be a good idea to start thinking about how you might be able to offer your workers a change in their daily routine. It might be a good idea to hire a space once a week to have meetings and offer employees a dedicated workspace at least part time. As previously mentioned most workers don’t want to be in the office full time so it might not be necessary to rent an entire office but there are plenty of spaces and offices you can rent by the day. Another option is to encourage employees that live close to each other to meet up for remote working sessions.
Understand your employees situation
Maybe your workers have become so used to working from their bed or sofa that they’ve not even thought about the corner where a desk would fit perfectly. Offer your employees support and arrange brainstorming sessions to try and find new ways of creating space for the new workplace.
4. Virtual meetings
We’ve all proven that many things are perfectly fine to do remotely but meetings don’t seem to be one of them, at least not if you’re going to listen to what workers want. Virtual meetings are topping the list of what workers are happy to see ending now that lockdown is over.
How to make meetings easier when hybrid working
It’s not all that easy to have meeting when some of us are working from home and some of us are in the office. Here are a few tricks to make it easier for you and your team to go back to the office.
Schedule meetings for when you’re in the office
We know this is easier said than done as many mention flexibility being key when going hybrid but at least try to schedule meetings for when people are in the office. It’s easy to think it won’t make a difference but trust us when we say that it will.
Sync your schedules
This ties into our previous point as syncing schedules is the main factor that plays into whether it’s possible to actually have meetings in person. It might be worth considering deciding on a day that your team is always in the office to be able to meet in person. In general meetings is a good thing to consider better and more productive in person even though they might be quicker online.
Another important thing to remember is that meetings online might be productive but they most likely won’t offer as good opportunities to help ease feelings of isolation. When syncing schedules you’ll be able to make the most of time spent in the office even if it might come at the cost of your employees flexibility to some extent.
Think about when a meeting is actually necessary
Check out this checklist from Ow Labs for when a meeting is actually necessary. Remember that time is money and a meeting might not always be the best way to spend that currency.
Book in an entire day for your meetings
Consider putting a day in the calendar for meetings. Check out inspiring spaces and venues for brainstorming, meetings and conferences. This might be a more efficient use of time for you and your team rather than having shorter meetings on a regular basis.
5. Lack of structure
The last thing on our list of things workers are happy to see the back of post lockdown is the lack of structure that’s comes with working from home. This is something that you as an employer might be able to help with by using multiple different tools and understanding the needs of your specific team.
Things you can do to implement more structure in the new workplace
We asked ourselves what we can do to help employees with structure when hybrid working. Here are some of our best advice.
Supporting employees with structure
If you’re a team leader you might want to keep in mind that this is something employees find hard and especially so when working from home. Start out with talking to your employees and have a brainstorming session where you can talk about what parts of their job might be hard to structure and see where you can step in and support them.
Tools for structure
Check out what tools might be out there to help with structure or even just invest in some nice analogue calendars for your team. Encourage everyone to take notes and make to-do lists in order to compensate for the lack of structure that naturally comes with working from home a few days a week. The answer might not be going back full time but rather find good ways to adjust to a world where working from home is a natural part of life.
New ways of getting together
The common denominator for all the above seems to be that you should talk to your employees and understand their individual needs. We think the new workplace will disrupt the way we get together and meet up with our coworkers. If you want to book a venue for your next team away day, don’t hesitate to reach out to our concierge service.
