When Covid-19 hit, most of the world was forced into a lockdown and companies had no other choice but to adjust their way of doing business. Most companies were able to implement a "work-from-home" work model and as such, allowed their employees to start working more flexible hours. This decision, however, comes with its own set of obstacles. Being aware of the disadvantages will help you to make an informed decision if you have been wondering which route would be best to take for your business.
DISADVANTAGES
1. Working from home with all the family present
For an employee, working from home may seem ideal. However, it is sometimes difficult for other family members to respect or even fully understand the fact that although the employee is physically at home, he/she is working and not free to do “other stuff". The employee will not be able to meet for a coffee, do housework or run errands for friends any more than if he/she were in the office!
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2. Blurring the home/work balance
When an employee works from home, it can be difficult to maintain a clear delineation between work and home. It is all too easy to slip into working beyond set hours, with an “I’ll just get this done” mentality leading to your employees working into the evening, rather than enjoying all-important downtime. What is more, colleagues and clients may think it is acceptable to contact employees out of working hours – and many employees may find it hard to ignore them. Suddenly, that much valued afternoon off is filled up with work.
The flip side of the coin is also true. Some employees will work fewer hours and rather spend time doing things in and around their homes.
3. Procrastination
Working from home requires a high degree of self-motivation. It is all too easy to procrastinate and avoid sitting down to work. With no one looking over one's shoulder, before you know it, half the day has gone. This can then lead to additional hours in the evening catching up on missed work hours when employees should be enjoying time with family. The inevitable loss of productive hours can negatively affect your business's bottom line.
4. Communication difficulties
How easy it is for employees to communicate with one another, will depend on you as the employer and your circumstances. However, technological difficulties should not be underestimated. Your employees may find it unexpectedly difficult to work with their colleagues, customers and suppliers who have different workflows or working hours to each other. Your employees will have to work on developing their organisational skills to co-ordinate communications, collaboration, planning and delivery.
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5. Flexible working requests can cause employee isolation.
While working alone from home may mean your employees can be at their desks by 7 am, distraction-free and still in their pajamas if they want to, they also lose out on the energy and creativity of working with others. Missing out on the encouragement, camaraderie and general buzz of working as part of a team can leave employees feeling both uninspired and isolated.
That, in turn, can have a detrimental effect on an employee's motivation and even the quality of their work. Studies have shown that an employee who works from home is at a higher risk of developing depression. Do not underestimate how much your employees might miss those birthday cakes or end-of-the-week drinks that make up so much of the social side of work.
6. Employees being side-lined
It is a sad fact of life that attitudes to flexible working in some organisations are still less than positive. Anecdotal evidence suggests it is even more frowned upon when it is a male employee making a request.
While it may manifest itself in subtle ways (thus making it more difficult to act), an employee who makes a successful application for flexible working may find themselves sidelined from decision making and career progression because (entirely wrongly) their commitment is questioned. Cultural change takes time and is happening slowly.
7. Employees being vulnerable in a downturn
Again, anecdotally, flexible working may make employees more vulnerable to redundancy in certain organisations. Clearly, any selection criteria for redundancy must be objective and non-discriminatory, so dismissing someone because they worked flexibly would not only be unfair dismissal but also discrimination.
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8. Strain on your business
Along with the disadvantages for your employees, it is also important to be aware that this will lead to disadvantages for you as the employer and your business. Another factor to consider is that for some managers, switching to a new way of working and supervision can be difficult, as the concept of not being able to see what someone is actually doing may be alien. There are many ways to combat this issue, however, one of which may be to implement a business process management solution.
Employers effectively take a gamble when they grant a flexible working request. For flexible arrangements to work, there must be give-and-take on both sides. If not carefully managed, flexible working can lead to inefficiencies and a drop in quality and communication.
Honesty
In conclusion, it is really important for an employee to be honest with themselves about what type of person they are. How self-motivated and disciplined is the employee and does he/she respond well to time spent on their own?
Before approving a flexible working request, you and your employee will also need to carefully consider what IT resources they will need to have to ensure their working practices do not become less efficient. What level of support can you offer as the employer, to get your employee set up with the right technology, and how reliable are its systems?