Is Flexible Work the Way of the Future?
I hate using the “C” word however, Coronavirus (COVID-19) is here and it’s testing us in ways we never thought imaginable. One of the biggest challenges we are facing right now is adapting, very quickly, to a new way of living. Albeit for a temporary and uncertain length of time.
Aside from our society going to absurd lengths to stockpile essentials from the supermarkets ahead of a potential isolation period, workplaces all over Australia have been setting up systems to allow for staff to work flexibly. This because we have been told to “social distance,” “self-isolate” or “home quarantine” to help flatten the curve of this fast moving COVID-19 outbreak. The big change has seen businesses, some for the first time ever, enabling employees to work from home.
Working from home has long been accepted as the norm here at Creative Little Soul, with all CLS staff working remotely. We encourage all staff to work wherever and whenever, so long as the job gets done. We video conference, we group chat and we get good work done either in our own homes or elsewhere.
Why the very reason Chrissy set up CLS to work in such a way, so that with her MS when and if she wasn’t feeling well she could still work and contribute but it was on her terms and from home, as having a chronic illness can be taxing. But it works, and well 7 years later our business was maybe ahead of the “work at home times”
The way we see it, the office job model is somewhat outdated. The 40-hour, five-day working week for all Australians was approved in the Commonwealth Arbitration Court in January 1948 although the origins of the 9-5 workday precedes to a much earlier time.
This means that although our “service and devotion” to the 9-5 has changed slightly with office employees working earlier and finishing later, our society has, for the most part, accepted this arrangement as the norm for over 60 years.
Only recently have we seen a shift towards the acceptance of flexible working. A growing movement over the last decade has seen advocates calling for employers to facilitate remote work for those who have the option to do so. The standard 9-5 or 40-hour week model still exists but we have seen an increased number of companies adopting flexible work practices to allow staff to work remotely. Mainly because in 2020, it makes sense to do so.
Other than the office 9-5 job being an archaic practice, there are huge benefits for organisations that do allow their staff to work remotely. Encouraging employees to work from home means less office space is needed to accommodate for in-house staff. That’s a huge cost saving, particularly for a small business. Flexible work arrangements generally make for a happier and healthier employee too. A worker who is commuting mighty distances and who is spending time working away from his/her family is surely more likely to suffer a burnout vs those who don’t.
Web based technology is our greatest asset in 2020 and gives some of us the flexibility to work away from a conventional workplace. Why then, have most companies up until now, been reluctant to adopt flexible work practices?
We asked Emma Heuston, the Founder and Principal of The Remote Expert, why she thinks some businesses have been reluctant to adopt the work from home model:
“There is a perception that working from home is not working productively, that you need to be “seen to succeed”. As a former remote worker and now owner of a virtual firm I know that this isn’t true. It is my hope that these difficult times we find ourselves in might help prove some of those myths untrue and lead to more flexibility for everyone moving forward,” said Emma.
According to an Airtasker survey of 1,004 full-time employees across the U.S., 505 of whom worked remotely, it seems productivity for remote workers is greater than those who are present in the office: “On average, remote employees worked 1.4 more days every month, or 16.8 more days every year, than those who worked in an office.” – Airtasker. It is also noted that staff who do work remotely are less likely to be distracted vs those who work in an office environment. Therefore, more work gets done and in the hours that suit both parties.
As of March 2020, businesses have been left with no option but to adapt to the notion of remote work. This is unfamiliar territory for many employers, so what should companies do transition to a new way of working? We asked Emma Heuston for her advice:
“The best thing companies can do is communicate with their workers – what their arrangements will look like, what their expectations are around core hours, will they use the company’s equipment (e.g. laptop) or does the worker need to supply their own? In these uncertain times, companies can get on the front foot and document the arrangement via a temporary variation of employment agreement to set those parameters and follow that up with a remote work policy and work health and safety check to show their team members they value them and their safety.”
Companies aside, remote work is also new to many people too. We asked Emma for her top three tips for “getting things done” whilst staff working remotely:
- “Get up and show up – routine is so important and so is getting in the right mindset. I never work in my pajamas and the reason for this is so I am in the right headspace to do my best.”
- “Have the right systems and processes in place – you want to make sure you have automated what you can, that you are not double handling and you are using tech to your advantage. Also make sure if you manage a team or work in a team that your communication systems are set up.”
- “Bring your boundaries – have strict boundaries around work time and home time and make sure you have that separate workspace to work from, if possible.“
As we are faced with uncertain times and as the world is quickly moving into isolation, businesses in the public and private sector have been forced to reconsider their options. If the show must go on, and if self-isolation is a necessity to stop the spread of COVID-19 in the community, allowances simply must be made for employees to work from home.
Maybe now, in a time when cooperation, trust and flexibility is vital to keep the business cogs moving in the right direction, will we see organisations accept that the future is flexible.
About Emma Heuston – The Remote Expert
Emma is Founder and Principal at “The Remote Expert”, a law firm that helps people in business who work remotely or hire a team who works remotely. In 2018, she wrote her first book, “The Tracksuit Economy – how to work productively and effectively from home” about her own experiences as a remote worker. Last year (2019) she established her virtual law firm, The Remote Expert to provide a series of affordable templates for businesses wanting to engage remote work and assist those who worked differently in their business.