It was recently discussed byRecruitment Buzzthat perceptions of home working is changing. Research byAcas suggests that home-workers have a much higher level of engagement and job satisfaction, if there is a mix of both home-working and office working.
It is noted that there needs to be four main attributes in place for home-working to be a success: Trust, performance management, communication and training. Without these in place, home-working loses its percieved advantages.
Advantages gained by home-working are stated as: increased productivity, increased engagement with role and overall better performance vs solely office based employees.
Although, it is not all positive. Managers’ report that home-workers can be much more difficult to manage than office based employees, and that without structured performance and communication channels, it can be difficult to maintain productivity or identify problems.
In addition to this, home-workers can sometimes struggle managing their time, and distractions may increase at home. Acas did note that the majority of people interviewed report no problems with managing focus, and said it actually improved.
The popularity of the home-working discussion is fuelled by a shift in employer focus from presenteeism, to actual results. It remains to be see if this shift is due to the ‘gig economy’ development, or simply millennial preference.
More blog postsA representative from Westray will be in touch with you shortly.