The Post-Pandemic Workplace

Writer: Evie Webley

The exponential growth of COVID-19 cases in Spring 2020 led to a national lockdown imposed by the government, in an attempt to reduce the spread of the disease. All non-essential shops and businesses were ordered to close, and the British population were instructed to stay at home, except for shopping for necessities, medical requirements, travelling to work as a key worker, and for daily exercise.

All employees, except key workers (nurses, doctors, carers, etc.), began working remotely. Meetings previously held in office turned into online calls using platforms such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams. Prior to the pandemic, hybrid and remote working became increasingly popular, with 12% of employees working from home at least one day a week, and 5% of employees reporting working mainly from home. In June 2020, exclusive remote working peaked at 38% of all employees. Remote and hybrid working post-pandemic remained more common than in 2019. As of September 2022, 22% of the workforce worked from home at least one day a week, and 13% worked exclusively from home. 

It is evident that hybrid and remote working is more popular than it was prior to the pandemic. However, the purpose of this article is to delve into the effects of the post-pandemic workplace on organisations and human resources.

A significant benefit of remote working on employees is increasing flexibility. In February 2022, 78% of remote employees agreed that working from home improved their work-life balance. The flexibility remote working offers means that employees can plan their working hours around personal activities such as family events, hobbies and interests, or simply when they feel most motivated. It is important to note that employees are bound to a contract and are required to work a certain number of hours. However, remote working enables workers to choose when these hours are worked, whether that be early mornings to early afternoons, or alternatively, late mornings into evenings. The ability to choose working hours provides autonomy, in turn increasing enthusiasm and willingness to work.

Working from home is advantageous not just to employees, but also organisations, with the most obvious benefit being reduced overhead costs. If less people are required to work in the office, the need to rent large office spaces is reduced. The same idea applies to office equipment, in-office food services, cleaning, and security costs. Fewer in-office employees, fewer costs.

Furthermore, remote working provides more benefits to the organisation than simply cost saving. As all aspects of work activity are online, the location of employees is less of a concern. Hiring managers therefore have access to a wider talent pool, bringing greater diversity into the business - the major benefit of this is new ideas. More diversity introduces different perspectives and ways of thinking into the organisation. Improved creativity increases opportunities to seek a competitive advantage, overall improving organisational strategy.

Despite the many benefits, remote working has its negatives. As well as being away from the office, employees are away from colleagues, which may feel isolating. The British Red Cross reported that while 84% of in-office workers reported that they felt close to their colleagues, only 44% of remote workers agreed. Socialising with colleagues can be an incentive to work, however this incentive is absent for remote workers. Ultimately, the loneliness caused by remote working can negatively impact employee wellbeing, which may lead to suffering productivity. Lonely workers are twice as likely to miss work due to stress. If the employee is absent from work, their productivity level is at a minimum.

As stated before, employee productivity can decline due to remote working. Consequently, the productivity of the whole organisation also falls. This isn’t just because of loneliness, however. Several factors contributing to loss of productivity, caused by increasing remote working, include communication issues, reduction in creativity, and less learning and feedback. Communication issues are a significant contributing factor to the reduction in productivity when remote working. It makes it difficult to coordinate jobs between employees, leading to unclear instructions or duplicate tasks.

It is evident that remote working has many benefits, but also many disadvantages. While some firms are in favour of all employees returning to the office due to these drawbacks, some are seeking ways to ensure productivity remains high despite working remotely. Poor communication can be tackled by conducting regular online meetings, where employees leave the call with clear instructions. Therefore, by tackling poor productivity when remote working, employees can benefit from the flexibility it offers, without the expense of the organisation’s efficiency.