The ingenuity and compatibility of this proposal lies in the fact many companies and roles already incorporate an element of working from home as part of their offering. I do not seek to reinvent the wheel but rather allow more access to it. They key message is to develop the existing relationship we have with home working into something much more substantial, breaking down the barriers that hold so many back from opportunities. With the lessons we have learned from our response to the pandemic, its time we start offering jobs with the option to be based solely from the home. My time working in HMRC has proven that this is not only possible, but can be done with the same if not higher levels of productivity being mutually beneficial to both employer and employee. While working from home we delivered arguably the biggest projects of our time including the job retention scheme and exiting the European Union, on top of our business as usual tasks- the majority of which being operated behind a desk in our living rooms.
There are several steps we can take to capitalise on this idea, firstly I’ll cover the physical aspects that would be part of an ideal scenario. When offering a role with the choice to be exclusively remote, it’s important to consider the infrastructure. Employers should provide a laptop or tablet for remote colleagues to use for their work, allowing for greater company governance and more robust security. Offer schemes where employees could take advantage of a salary loan scheme, or more preferably, company funded vouchers used to purchase equipment such as a suitable desk, chair and additional monitors. This helps to ensure socio-economic limitations and those requiring specialist equipment due to impairments are not outside the scope of your offering. On the topic of inclusivity it would be best to offer network dongles that would allow remote ares to take advantage of an increasing availability of 4G and 5G.
While these suggestions seem bold, the costs of including this as part of your offer would be absorbed by the savings made by a reduction in office space demand. Commercial property author Gosia Furmanik reports companies across the UK can spend between £150 to £1500 per person per month for office space. Another key physical benefit for departments is flexibility, you can now expand your workforce responding to peaks in demand even with limited office space or buildings already at capacity- reducing overall estate expenses.
The next area I would like to cover is equally as important, the consideration of employee well-being. Remote working can be isolating so an essential part of the offering must be to look after the welfare of your employees. Part of this would be regular team meetings, with a camera feature allowed for more cohesive team building. Initial inductions would have to cover the basis for mental resilience as well as managers being trained in the importance of emotional intelligence and how to effectively look after their remote workers. Any training should be specially tailored to be offered on a digital platform, taking full advantage of the Office365 facilities adopted by most departments, as well as consolidation coaches for each stage of the employees journey. As part of the day to day role there are many steps to encourage engagement with remote workers. These could involve focus group meetings, home working ambassadors/ representatives as well as internal social networking and forums, not exclusive to, but focusing on remote workers and their experiences. While it may not always be feasible to consider a flexible working pattern, where possible allowing employees to choose a start and end time takes the usual restrictions imposed by the 9-5 on growing families.
As the UK prepares to host the COP26 summit in 2021, we have an opportunity to showcase our commitment to the environment by cutting daily commuting and promoting a green workforce. According to the BBC the average petrol car in the UK produces the equivalent of 180g of CO2 every kilometre. Allowing remote based positions can help reduce the carbon footprint of the civil service, setting an example for the private sector. Further to this a byproduct of remote working is the reduction of use of paper and stationary. I firmly believe that the introduction of remote working will promote an influx of new and creative ways to exploit technology to reduce our dependancy on physical resources, helping us to reach our net zero emissions target by 2050.
We have the potential to change the working lives of thousands of workers who feel disaffected by their location to current and potential employment, the responsibilities of family life, and the physical limitations standing in their way. In the campaign to reduce the civil services dependency on consultancies what a better way to show we’re serious than to completely widen the scope of our recruitment campaigns, offering an attractive place to work for all. We’ve got an opportunity to address the balancing of work and social activities as well as reducing the amount of nonproductive time. Empowering our colleagues, leaving more money in their pocket to do the things they love and supporting an inclusive environment will showcase a modern, adaptable and diverse civil service.
Sources:
https://blog.realla.co.uk/what-is-the-cost-per-desk-in-london-offices https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200317-climate-change-cut-carbon-emissions-from-your-commute
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