During 2020 and 2021, many people will have been (and continue to be) working from home remotely, perhaps for the first time.

If this is you or your staff, how have you found it? Some businesses have chosen to continue working in this way long term, in order to save costs for the business and your staff, or because you prefer the flexibility of working this way. Others prefer working at the office around other people, perhaps so they don’t get left feeling isolated.

When deciding how and where you and your staff work long term, it’s important to consider the pros and cons of both options, some of which I identify here.

Working in the office

Pros:

  1. Instant communication with other members of your team.
  2. Time and hours can be more structured.
  3. Ability to manage and oversee staff directly.
  4. Less tempting to be distracted by your mobile and other media devices.
  5. Easier to train new team members face to face than it is remotely.
  6. A place for clients or other contacts to come to for meetings, also giving more credibility.
  7. Collaborations and brainstorm sessions are more likely to take place.

Cons:

  1. As mentioned, running an office involves more costs/overheads.
  2. As you grow, you might need to increase the office space which may mean moving everything to another location.
  3. Office politics and staff disagreements can be difficult and perhaps more likely in current times with divided opinions.
  4. If romantic relationships form between staff members and they later part company, this can sometimes lead to one or both wanting to leave.

Working from home

Pros:

  1. Less overheads – arguably the biggest benefit is the savings you can make on rent and rates, light and heating costs. also on equipment such as furniture, kitchen appliances and so on.
  2. Staff save time and expense with commuting – they’ll have more time to spend on non work related activities.
  3. Distractions from other members of staff are reduced.
  4. More flexibility with working times/hours which can be helpful for parents, who need to take/collect their kids from school and also when people have appointments during the usual office hours. The flexibility also means people can work at their most productive times e.g. in the evening perhaps.
  5. You can work in a café or a park which can increase creativity.
  6. Staff might accept reduced pay because of the financial and other benefits they get as a result of working from home.
  7. Less chance of staff being exposed to bacteria/viruses from other people – not just Covid-19 but other viruses that are always around and cause people to need time off sick e.g. influenza. There is a vaccine, but it’s said to be only 40-50% reliable and not everyone has flu jabs, so it is a major reason people take time off sick.

Cons:

  1. Managing staff remotely can be more difficult. Keeping on top of what staff are doing and trusting them to work efficiently can be difficult at first.
  2. Some people can feel lonely when working on their own and miss the social benefits of working with others in an office.
  3. It can be easy to get distracted while at home e.g. by family members,
  4. Displacement activities can be tempting e.g. chores that need doing which can break your train of thought and focus.
  5. Calls and interruptions can occur from family and friends who think it’s ok as you’re not at the office.
  6. Lack of space at home to work so you end up using say the dining table rather than somewhere quiet that you can concentrate.
  7. Temptation to work long hours without breaks.

To Summarise…

Whichever way you choose to work long term, it is vital that you discuss the options with your staff and get their thoughts. You may be able to provide both options so staff members can choose which one they prefer. Another way is alternating – working  a week in the office and a week at home. Or don’t have an office but hire a meeting room on a regular basis, so you can have face to face meetings.