So how are remote workers managed in the event of a forced closure?

With the threat of disruption to workplaces in light of the Covid-19 situation, it’s an ever increasing possibility that more and more companies who can, may be required to ask employees to work from home.

For example, Google instructed the majority of their 8,000 staff and contractors working for Google in Ireland to continue working from home today, as it’s understood that there may be concerns whether an employee who has been showing flu-like symptoms has Covid-19 or not. The company says it’s “not yet clear how long the 'working from home' policy will remain in place.

 Twitter staff across the world have also been asked to work from home in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Online recruiter, Indeed, have also recently told their 1,000 staff not to come into the Dublin offices due to concerns that a staff member may have been exposed to the coronavirus. 

Though, working remotely is a reality for a lot of workers in Ireland regardless of the Covid-19 issue. One of the largest HR and employment surveys in Ireland (The Sigmar EY 2020 Talent Leader Pulse Survey) confirmed that the flexi-workforce now makes up 21 per cent of the total workforce and it’s a growing space that may affect all managers in the future.

So what techniques work when managing remote workers?

1. Engagement

It’s important that managers continue to connect with remote workers, as if they were in the building to ensure that they don’t feed disconnected or disadvantaged. Daily chats and general communications will help, and modern technology such as Skype and social networking apps will facilitate when it comes to checking in, updating and remaining connected with the wider team.

2. Team Collaboration

Remote workers also need to feel a professional connection through team collaboration with their colleagues and organisation. It’s important that they are involved in brainstorming, official team meetings and where applicable, decision making. Again, this can be done via video link or conference calls. It’s important that all workers are involved in decision making that involves them and their team – not only is this good for moral and engagement, but it’s also important for the organisation - so they don’t miss out on valuable inputs.

3. Productivity

There’s no doubt that flexible working can give more freedom to workers and it can also be extremely distracting. Boundaries between work and personal life can blur in this instance.

There’s always going to be employees that will fully invest themselves when required to work from home, while others could find themselves in hot water if they are easily distracted or just take the piss.

Having a clear understanding of what’s expected as in tasks and deadlines etc., will help. Being transparent about who’s doing what, when and with clear deadlines, can help keep things on track for everyone. A transparent team culture increases trust and will hopefully keep everybody engaged and focussed on their individual and team goals. A great manager will ensure that everyone pulls their weight with regular check-ins. HR backup may be required for those who step out of line.

4. Different Employees

There will be different personalities in the organisation and this should be taken into consideration when it comes to home working. Task oriented and introverted loners are believed to make excellent stay at home employees. But, it must also take into consideration that the chatty employees regularly spend a lot of time in the office doing non work related stuff, so if they are working from home there could also be less distractions and they may actually get more done.

5. Monitoring Results

Remember, there’s a fine line between big brother and reasonable monitoring. If you're a manager and you're monitoring output – actual work done, targets achieved, results etc., this has to be a much healthier way of monitoring, rather than tracking every keystroke. There's nothing more morale destroying than an employee feeling that you don’t trust them, particularly when they know they are putting the work in.

6. Health and Safety

An employer has a duty of care towards all employees and this includes staff who are working from home. Strictly speaking this means that an employer should carry out a risk assessment of the employee’s home office space to ensure that it complies with duty of care. In the situation regarding Covid-19 I don’t think that companies will be held responsible, if they cannot do this for every employee right now, but it is something to remember none the less. A communication regarding health and safety may suffice.

7. Data Protection

It’s important that employers consider GDPR Regulations when it comes to employees working from home. Breaches can appear in various ways including loss of physical data in transit, accidental or deliberately leaking personal data. Employers can be held liable for the actions of its’ employees regardless of motive. It’s vital to remove the risks and also have a data protection policy in place with on-going training for staff.

So, with the current Covid-19 risk, employers may be forced to send workers home and require them to actually work remotely. It is therefore useful for employers to at least explore this option now and look at the possibilities of doing it, whilst reviewing how a forced closure would impact the business.

Employers should also look at the value that working from home options may bring them in normal circumstances. For example flexible working options could help to retain staff, particularly for working parents or people who live in isolated locations.

Employers should also be aware though, that if an employee works from home for an extended period, that the right to work from home could become an implied term of their contract of employment through custom and practice and they could have future rights in this regard.

Stay safe everyone