The UK is three weeks into its social distancing lock down, which means not only are most of us having to work from home – that’s if we’ve not already been furloughed by our employer – but we’re having to keep our distance from people who aren’t members of our own household.
If you are still working, how are you meant to carry on working with such restrictions in place?
Effective collaboration is the key to successful remote working – ultimately, if you can’t do your job as effectively while away from the office then remote working isn’t working.
Here’s why the cloud is key to effective collaboration – along with a reliable conference call provider.
The first Monday in February is said to be the biggest sick day of the year, as employees enjoy their first weekend of freedom after the relative constraints of Dry January – remember, if you’ve had one too many the night before you might still be over the drink drive limit the following morning. If you’re in any doubt, you should work from home and conduct any meetings via conference call.
If you’re an employer, do you know how much sick days are costing your business each year?
Working from home has always been seen as a great way to help improve the work/life balance of employees, but not all jobs – or all employees for that matter – are suitable for remote working.
So it’s interesting to see that Channel 4 is introducing agile working as part of its employment policy from January next year.
As a business owner, you’ll be keen to attract and retain the best talent, and offering employees the chance to work from home is a good way to go about it – not only will your people appreciate the flexibility, it could actually increase productivity.
But before you offer staff the chance to work remotely, you need to make sure it’s right for your business and ease your way into it – here’s how…
If you find your productivity levels drop as temperatures rise, don’t beat yourself up trying to find out why – it might not even be your fault! Here’s why…
We all want our employees to be as productive as possible, and finding the right work/life balance can be key to keeping employees happy – and happy employees are generally more productive.
The trouble is, finding the right work/life balance can be tricky – while having the option of working from home will be enough for some, remote working doesn’t agree with everyone, even though advances in mobile technology mean that working from anywhere is easier than ever before.
So, how can you improve the work/life balance of your employees?
Are you feeling constantly stressed out? To the point where you feel completely overwhelmed, exhausted and helpless? If so, you could be suffering from burnout. And you’re not alone – the problem is so prevalent in modern life that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has now recognised the condition in the latest version of its International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health problems, a handbook for recognized medical conditions.
Cutting out the daily commute is a great way to reduce your monthly costs, lower your carbon footprint improve your work/life balance and even your overall health, as you’re not exposed to traffic fumes – it’s amazing the positive impact avoiding the morning traffic can have.
But new research has found that everyday household items, including toasters, could actually be exposing you to more pollution than being out on the busy morning roads.
There are loads of positives to freelancing and working remotely, not least that you can fit your work schedule around other priorities in life – doing away with the nine-to-five means freelancing can be particularly good for parents, who have to factor school runs and childcare into the working day.
A study from Kalido, a professional networking app, has found that as many as half (50%) of all workers are expected to turn freelance in the next two years. It also found that almost two-thirds (64%) of UK-based businesses currently rely on freelance workers in some capacity; and over a third (39%) of business owners predict that their use of freelancers will grow faster than their number of permanent hires in the next five years.
On the face of it, this is great for everyone’s life/work balance, but there’s evidence to suggest that a growth in remote working could lead to an increase in mental health issues, particularly for those who work alone at home.