Don’t rush the Work from Home Policy
Blair – CultureXP | 5 min read
I love the human connection and being around people. I know I feed off the energy of others - it is good for my soul. But here is the thing, while in my COVID-19 bubble I found my work from home mojo - and I’m not alone. The Work from Home policy will be top of mind for employees. People and Culture teams are likely to be in hustle mode as they seek feedback from their employees and work with their Leadership team to reimagine this. Nothing but good intentions, but rushing the design will only lead to heartache.
Working from home is different to remote working.
Understanding the difference is vital as we work with our people to reimagine our workplace, practices, policies, and Culture.
Working from home is what we do when we have a company office as a base, and we choose to work from home to get some quality do not disturb time. Or maybe it is simply needing a change of scenery or wanting to improve our work/life blend.
Remote working involves working outside of the company office, the majority of the time. Like the office being in Wellington, but you work in Napier. Remote working requires a different mindset and discipline, excellent time management, and even better self-starting attitude.
Both workplace trends have real benefits for your people, but they are very different. Working from home is a temporary situation. With COVID-19, we were living through a pandemic and trying to get some work done. Remote working represents a different way of working and approach to getting things delivered.
Work from home revolution.
Fans of the work from home revolution will be eagerly awaiting a revised policy. However, this trend is not for everyone. Sadly, for some, home life may not be great and working in the office may be the thing that helps get them through life. Let’s also not lose sight that being in-person matters, and we need to make the most of it. Be open, listen to your people and work through the different scenarios, that give your leaders and people clarity and flexibility they crave.
Consider a work from home allowance.
Google is giving employees who work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic $1,000 allowances to cover equipment costs. How did I learn this – an employee shared a YouTube desk tour video of his new kit and gave a shout out to his employer. What is not to love about this employee experience that went viral. An allowance is worth considering as we scale back commercial property costs. Reinvesting some savings back into the health and wellness of your people is the right thing to do. Colleagues’ pimping out their home office space – sounds like the beginning of an awesome company challenge.
How many days?
Google's HR research suggests that the amount of work from home time is one and a half days per week. Enough to participate in the company culture, with some time reserved for deep focused work - sounds logical. But in my mind, I like the idea of working from home two days per week as this enhances the benefit of not commuting, which is a significant contributor to making us less happy.
This policy comes down to trust.
For this policy to work, your Culture needs trust. Your core values, behaviours and communication need to echo and embrace your new normal. Only when your Leaders take your values off the wall and start to live them is when this policy will come into its own. How your leaders choose to treat your people with this policy impacts everything.
If you have doubts about any of these, adopt a design thinking approach and run a pilot. Support your leaders to implement this policy in the spirit intended and act quickly when they are not walking the talk. Listen and tweak the draft policy as you capture your peoples voice. Flush out the blind spots from an IT feasibility and business sustainability angle before committing this policy to ink.
Finally, if Culture development has sat too long in the too hard basket, use this opportunity to start making a difference. Seize the moment to ultimately build a culture that allows long-overdue work flexibility. Seth Godin says Start small, start now. I like Seth's thinking.
Thanks for reading my blog. Our world is better when we share, and I would love to hear your insights and stories. I am also a big fan of coffee. So, if you want to connect and explore how we might be able to help each other and create great workplaces, say no more. Let’s make this a happening thing.