Working from home seems to have been much more successful than expected, conference technology came to the rescue and we all value the reduced commuting. What could possibly go wrong?
Well teamwork, for a start. We communicate not just by words but by intonation and body language. Then there is the spontaneous discussions, debates and arguments that go on when several people are in the same place.
Informal chat. Employees chat over coffee, over lunch, even when commuting. That builds relationships. Those who work from home are excluded unintentionally.
Gender bias. If women choose to work from home and men prefer the office which even in 2021 may happen, there comes the risk of men getting promoted simply because they have more exposure to the boss. Research on a Chinese travel company some years ago showed people working in the office getting promoted at twice the rate of those working from home.
Ergonomic problems. Home working fosters long periods of sitting and in time we may see muscular-skeletal health problems emerging.
Pressure to use the commute hours. This seems especially true for those working across time zones, the pressure to work not just during the commute time but during an extended day.
Silo creation. This is the concept that to communicate with opposite numbers in other departments the message has to go up the management structure in one “silo” and down management structure in the next “silo”. It seems homeworking may be re-creating silos that were breached many years ago.
Perhaps working from home is a practice we should not wish for.
Malcolm Martin FCIPD
Author Human Resource Practice
Blogs are for general guidance and are not an authoritative statement of the law.