Whether you’ve been through the pandemic or not, what’s sure is that working conditions and
expectations changed considerably since. Regardless, the change from continuous onsite work to sudden remote was detrimental for both employers and employees. On one hand, burnout was occurring more often since workers were staying up late to finish their tasks. Still, some companies noticed their workers doing random tasks instead of their supposed work.
Overall, what happened during the pandemic was a total failure because companies would have handled the situation better for sure. However, there’s a better side of the story, in which both parties found new and better ways to do their work by blending in different types of schedules.
Hence, some employers offer the opportunity for their teams to work entirely remotely, while others consider that a hybrid approach is more beneficial. But which is best for their well-being?
Onsite work: pros and cons
Working onsite has been with us for so many generations. Since the beginning of industrialization, we have been used to going to our job locations in person and then returning home in the afternoon. This was part of a healthy lifestyle in which employees would get to socialise, make some physical effort and be wired to the moment.
However, as time passed and the 9 to 5 trend was settled, people were nothing more than tired of their jobs. That’s because sitting all day wasn’t that beneficial at all, and the amount of communication lowered, so people also got less sociable. Moreover, all the stress and workload led to more accidents, such as slips, trips or falls.
Back then, there wouldn’t be much compensation for these things, but now, depending on how grave the injury is and the circumstance in which it happened, you can claim settlement, according to https://www.personalinjuryclaimsuk.org.uk/.
Remote working might be the most controversial
Now, remote working wasn’t such a new thing when the pandemic started because some jobs allowed employees to work from home since their tasks didn’t necessarily require presence at the office. However, during the pandemic, employers were nothing but unsatisfied with the results of this practice, while workers absolutely loved it.
Indeed, when working from one, one has more time on their hands for taking care of their home tasks, such as making lunch or spending more time with family. Plus, all commute expenses were lowered, helping people save more money.
Still, it’s easy to lose the work-life balance in this situation because people either work too much or not enough to meet their deadlines. At the same time, becoming disconnected from the workplace and getting isolated is more likely to happen in remote work.
Hybrid work might be the perfect balance
After the pandemic ended and things got back to normal, not all employees wanted to return to the physical office. Hence, employers found a solution of hybrid work, which has remained the best option for both parties to this day.
This method seems the best because it fills all the gaps between remote and onsite working systems. First, it ensures enough communication and engagement with others. But it still offers comfort from home and is financially efficient. Plus, employers will agree on this system since they can still collaborate with teams physically if they prioritise it.
Still, there are some downsides to hybrid work. One of the most worrying aspects is the increased cyber risks that come from changing working stations all the time and leaving laptops or PCs unattended at work for some time because not all employers allow taking them home. At the same time, it might be challenging to maintain a productive routine, mainly when office days and home days are not settled for the entire year and change a lot.
Why proposing more options for your team will increase their trust in you
As an employer, it’s understandable how sudden changes affect your business. You might lose clients and prospects, and layoffs are also unpleasant. However, during and after inconveniences like pandemics and extreme weather events, workers might feel more vulnerable because they’ll have to put their lives in danger to get to work. This automatically affects their work input and quality, which is why you must consider better alternatives.
So, consult your team and ask for their opinions instead of leaving things as they are or enforcing a solution. You’ll be surprised to see how different they see the situation and also how much they’ll appreciate your effort in acknowledging their hardships.
Or, if you’ve got the time and the expertise, you can test different methods for a short time and see which works better for your employees. Some people work better from home, where they have everything needed, while others might prefer hybrid work for a more balanced lifestyle.
How to make sure employees are productive in any system
One of the main reasons why employers don’t agree with any change and stick to onsite work is they fear productivity rates will decrease. Indeed, this has happened during the pandemic, but that’s due to a lack of control and systematisation.
If you want to keep productivity levels rising, it would be a great idea to create a plan and a policy on how to maintain control over their tasks while also allowing them some freedom. Monitoring them would be a solution, but it doesn’t work in all cases because some might dodge it. So, you need to rely on trusting them, so you must hire trustworthy people in the first place. However, discussing with them and having some boundaries on the working environment is the most efficient solution.
Bottom line
Having to choose between onsite, hybrid and remote work seems unnecessary for others, while for most employees, it’s a way to handle demanding workloads and overtime work. Therefore, if you want to make your employees happy and show you care about their well-being, try implementing a system in which they can choose whether onsite or hybrid is better for their mental health and working capabilities.