WFH - Employer experiences..
Discussion
Morning,
Interested to hear your experiences (as an employer) with your staff working from home.
I’ve only had a few members of staff WFH over this past year and had mixed experiences - really not sure what to think of it and how to structure them going forward.
- Some rave about it, get to spend all this time with family and help the Mrs out throughout the day. But aren’t you supposed to be working
- Others hate it. Miss the structure and do not have the space to create a working space similar to what we offer/have.
- Others are impartial, but appear to want some element of WFH going forward.
The thing that I am concerned about is the us/them attitude that’s raised it’s head a few times, I.e people who operate from our premises (and need to) having the attitude that people working from home are just sat on the sofa whilst they’re working their ass off!!
Also as a small team, everybody does a bit more than their own specific role, I.e chip in here and there to help others out. It even goes as far as everybody dropping tools and jumping into one specific role for 30mins if we really need to hit a deadline.
WFH isn’t really helping this camaraderie, which I think is vital in a small business.
Really interested to hear your experiences?
- are you getting on well?
- will you encourage WFH going forward?
- is productivity up?
- do you hate it?
Cheers.
Interested to hear your experiences (as an employer) with your staff working from home.
I’ve only had a few members of staff WFH over this past year and had mixed experiences - really not sure what to think of it and how to structure them going forward.
- Some rave about it, get to spend all this time with family and help the Mrs out throughout the day. But aren’t you supposed to be working
- Others hate it. Miss the structure and do not have the space to create a working space similar to what we offer/have.
- Others are impartial, but appear to want some element of WFH going forward.
The thing that I am concerned about is the us/them attitude that’s raised it’s head a few times, I.e people who operate from our premises (and need to) having the attitude that people working from home are just sat on the sofa whilst they’re working their ass off!!
Also as a small team, everybody does a bit more than their own specific role, I.e chip in here and there to help others out. It even goes as far as everybody dropping tools and jumping into one specific role for 30mins if we really need to hit a deadline.
WFH isn’t really helping this camaraderie, which I think is vital in a small business.
Really interested to hear your experiences?
- are you getting on well?
- will you encourage WFH going forward?
- is productivity up?
- do you hate it?
Cheers.
Good question, be interested in others’ experiences too.
My team is doing pretty well I think, but you’re right that it’s the culture that suffers most. It’s harder to make working together fun when there’s so little social interaction. I’ve found getting people off email and onto tools like Slack and WhatsApp helps, as people can banter a bit, plus I’m also using the phone as the equivalent of passing someone in the office, and calling people more just to check in. Haven’t seen people slacking off though - if anything they’re working more hours and more productively.
The other downside of working remotely is there’s more room for crossed wires and people assuming others have been selfish or stupid. I’ve been encouraging the concept of ‘positive intent’ where you have to assume they mean well and ask them how they saw the task before taking umbrage. 99 times out of 100 they find it was actually a misunderstanding. Overall, my sense is you can create and maintain really good team cohesion but it does need much more active intervention than when physically together.
Interestingly, the team do want to return to the office, but not full time. No one likes the cost and time of commuting much! So my plan is to make desk work mainly a WFH thing, and turn the office into more of a place where people come for a few days a week when there are meetings and brainstorms, and make it less desks and more meeting rooms, cafe tables and sofas. Personally can’t wait though, as will make my job a lot easier.
My team is doing pretty well I think, but you’re right that it’s the culture that suffers most. It’s harder to make working together fun when there’s so little social interaction. I’ve found getting people off email and onto tools like Slack and WhatsApp helps, as people can banter a bit, plus I’m also using the phone as the equivalent of passing someone in the office, and calling people more just to check in. Haven’t seen people slacking off though - if anything they’re working more hours and more productively.
The other downside of working remotely is there’s more room for crossed wires and people assuming others have been selfish or stupid. I’ve been encouraging the concept of ‘positive intent’ where you have to assume they mean well and ask them how they saw the task before taking umbrage. 99 times out of 100 they find it was actually a misunderstanding. Overall, my sense is you can create and maintain really good team cohesion but it does need much more active intervention than when physically together.
Interestingly, the team do want to return to the office, but not full time. No one likes the cost and time of commuting much! So my plan is to make desk work mainly a WFH thing, and turn the office into more of a place where people come for a few days a week when there are meetings and brainstorms, and make it less desks and more meeting rooms, cafe tables and sofas. Personally can’t wait though, as will make my job a lot easier.
Edited by 67Dino on Sunday 7th February 09:15
I think you'll get a very mixed response on this as so much is dependant upon the type of work people are doing.
From my perspective, it's been largely positive although I transferred to home working six months before it became trendy. I work with collaborators rather than staff and a big chunk of those worked as a cohesive unit within a studio. Being a creative business, prior to Covid, as and when jobs came in, I'd spend a day or more in the studio with them to develop ideas which was as productive as it was enjoyable as any creative process should be.
Doing this online is possible but it certainly looses a lot of the spontaneity you get from physical interaction and I sense that we're not fully exploring the creative extents as much as we did previously.
It helps that everyone I work with is trustworthy so I know that timesheets aren't being fudged - and it's still a team.
On the plus side, productivity has certainly increased. Work is getting turned around quicker and we're doing more work. I think the latter is largely down to the fact that the traditional 9-5, Mon-Fri structure has gone. I'm working today, not because I have any pressing deadlines or any more work than normal but because I don't really have much else to do.
From my perspective, it's been largely positive although I transferred to home working six months before it became trendy. I work with collaborators rather than staff and a big chunk of those worked as a cohesive unit within a studio. Being a creative business, prior to Covid, as and when jobs came in, I'd spend a day or more in the studio with them to develop ideas which was as productive as it was enjoyable as any creative process should be.
Doing this online is possible but it certainly looses a lot of the spontaneity you get from physical interaction and I sense that we're not fully exploring the creative extents as much as we did previously.
It helps that everyone I work with is trustworthy so I know that timesheets aren't being fudged - and it's still a team.
On the plus side, productivity has certainly increased. Work is getting turned around quicker and we're doing more work. I think the latter is largely down to the fact that the traditional 9-5, Mon-Fri structure has gone. I'm working today, not because I have any pressing deadlines or any more work than normal but because I don't really have much else to do.
Thanks for your replies, great insight.
We have two parts to our business, warehouse/logistic side and the office side. We’re experimenting with new tools to help increase comms and organisation - but have always used Skype (last 15yrs) as an instant messenger to encourage that quick ask instead of a more formal email.
The other problem we face is that our work can’t necessarily be done at the employees leisure, I.e they have to be available to the consumer between X & Y times. Thus one of the main benefits that people look for (flexible hours) in WFH is removed...
It’s a tricky one and differs so much based on what you do and even where you’re based (cost and friendliness of commute).
E.g I daily my 991, my early morning and late night commutes (short but rural) are the best bit of going to the office!
We have two parts to our business, warehouse/logistic side and the office side. We’re experimenting with new tools to help increase comms and organisation - but have always used Skype (last 15yrs) as an instant messenger to encourage that quick ask instead of a more formal email.
The other problem we face is that our work can’t necessarily be done at the employees leisure, I.e they have to be available to the consumer between X & Y times. Thus one of the main benefits that people look for (flexible hours) in WFH is removed...
It’s a tricky one and differs so much based on what you do and even where you’re based (cost and friendliness of commute).
E.g I daily my 991, my early morning and late night commutes (short but rural) are the best bit of going to the office!
As an 'outsider' I find that companies' phone response can actually be better now. Last week I even managed to speak to someone at the Environment Agency! It makes me wonder if sometimes the workplace is a distraction. Across the board customer service seems to be as good as and sometimes better than before. Apart from Scottish Power of course, who make the Marx Brothers look like Dragons' Den.
Mixed bag for me.
I work(ed) in an office with between 30 and 40 people. It was incredibly productive but equally sociable place. I’ve not seen the majority of those people face to face for a year now. I have very regular phone calls and video calls with my boss and other team members. Never felt like I was being watched or had ‘commitment’ questioned whilst working from home. It was alright for a while but I’m now missing the interaction, missing it a lot in fact. I’m in the house on my own for 10 hours a day, I don’t bump into people for a catch up / chat anymore, there’s little to no ad hoc networking or general work talks caught in corridors and on site.
I do like working from home to a point. I’ve had to pop in every now and then over the last months and relished the opportunity. I enjoy seeing people on site, I enjoy the limited interaction I can have with others.
Going forward I imagine I’d be working from home 2 or 3 days a week.
I work(ed) in an office with between 30 and 40 people. It was incredibly productive but equally sociable place. I’ve not seen the majority of those people face to face for a year now. I have very regular phone calls and video calls with my boss and other team members. Never felt like I was being watched or had ‘commitment’ questioned whilst working from home. It was alright for a while but I’m now missing the interaction, missing it a lot in fact. I’m in the house on my own for 10 hours a day, I don’t bump into people for a catch up / chat anymore, there’s little to no ad hoc networking or general work talks caught in corridors and on site.
I do like working from home to a point. I’ve had to pop in every now and then over the last months and relished the opportunity. I enjoy seeing people on site, I enjoy the limited interaction I can have with others.
Going forward I imagine I’d be working from home 2 or 3 days a week.
Our team consists of mainly women in their 50's, who had always been office based and viewed WFH people as either slackers or anti social. Nine months of them WFH and when it is their rota'd day to go in for a morning to check the post, you'd think you'd asked them to do a shift down the mines.
I suspect a lot of child minding, housework etc is getting done, but as long as their allocated work is done and they answer the phone quick enough, I can't see an issue. I strongly doubt things will go back to how they were now. At least half the week will be WFH with a gradual downsizing of office space as we move to hot desking.
I suspect a lot of child minding, housework etc is getting done, but as long as their allocated work is done and they answer the phone quick enough, I can't see an issue. I strongly doubt things will go back to how they were now. At least half the week will be WFH with a gradual downsizing of office space as we move to hot desking.
My team has been fully WFH for years. They love it. Churn and sick days has dropped to near zero, with no impact on performance.
The big downside is development and training is much harder. Not much of either going on, but in our case it's not an issue as churn is so low. It's balanced by larger more incentivised pools of applicants.
The big downside is development and training is much harder. Not much of either going on, but in our case it's not an issue as churn is so low. It's balanced by larger more incentivised pools of applicants.
Hi Russ
We had a double whammy of having to leave the office and a massive surge in business due to the e-commerce tidal wave.
Everyone worked well with morning scrum outlining what everyone would achieve and if they didn’t then the discussion the next morning over lagging projects / tasks meant no further enquiry was needed.
Of course different types of biz etc.
What really saved us was the fact our serviced office was a 10 and a 6 at £250 a head, we took on more staff and would have had no room for them. Wfh helped in that aspect.
I left in September to start the club and this is a pain as we need to be in a studio etc so wfh is a huge compromise.
Glad you’re at the ultra busy end of the pandemic spectrum, I’m sure that Lego is flying out.
We had a double whammy of having to leave the office and a massive surge in business due to the e-commerce tidal wave.
Everyone worked well with morning scrum outlining what everyone would achieve and if they didn’t then the discussion the next morning over lagging projects / tasks meant no further enquiry was needed.
Of course different types of biz etc.
What really saved us was the fact our serviced office was a 10 and a 6 at £250 a head, we took on more staff and would have had no room for them. Wfh helped in that aspect.
I left in September to start the club and this is a pain as we need to be in a studio etc so wfh is a huge compromise.
Glad you’re at the ultra busy end of the pandemic spectrum, I’m sure that Lego is flying out.
I think the answer is to do a bit of both.
I (and all my team) work 38hrs p/w over 4 days but split those 4 days so that we WFH 2 and WFOffice the other 2. Best of both worlds?
No drop in productivity. The only downside is working relationships but we make sure we have a big TEAMS meeting once a week for an hour where we can catch up/banter etc.
When lockdown ends there’s the opportunity to go for a meal/drinks after work once a month again...
I (and all my team) work 38hrs p/w over 4 days but split those 4 days so that we WFH 2 and WFOffice the other 2. Best of both worlds?
No drop in productivity. The only downside is working relationships but we make sure we have a big TEAMS meeting once a week for an hour where we can catch up/banter etc.
When lockdown ends there’s the opportunity to go for a meal/drinks after work once a month again...
I manage a team of 5 (4 in the UK, 1 in France).
They all love and enjoy working from home, so much so we've just told everyone can stay doing it for good - but if you want to use the office, you need to book now as we are reducing space. Everyone seems to be coping well, work getting done...I told them to go help wifes, kids etc - as long as work gets done, it doesn't matter.
They all love and enjoy working from home, so much so we've just told everyone can stay doing it for good - but if you want to use the office, you need to book now as we are reducing space. Everyone seems to be coping well, work getting done...I told them to go help wifes, kids etc - as long as work gets done, it doesn't matter.
LukeyP_ said:
I manage a team of 5 (4 in the UK, 1 in France).
They all love and enjoy working from home, so much so we've just told everyone can stay doing it for good - but if you want to use the office, you need to book now as we are reducing space. Everyone seems to be coping well, work getting done...I told them to go help wifes, kids etc - as long as work gets done, it doesn't matter.
Have to agree with this. If the work is getting done and people are available when you need to get hold of them then it’s a win win situation for work life balance. They all love and enjoy working from home, so much so we've just told everyone can stay doing it for good - but if you want to use the office, you need to book now as we are reducing space. Everyone seems to be coping well, work getting done...I told them to go help wifes, kids etc - as long as work gets done, it doesn't matter.
I've always managed my teams workload in an Agile methodology and we all get together once per week to share what we've been working on, and what's coming in the next week. It helps team communication and collaboration. It's not micro-management as I don't tell them what to work on, it's a knowledge sharing tool.
We carried on this approach remotely during lockdown and it's been REALLY useful that it was already in place and I know I can trust my team and am measuring the output not hours put in. I don't really care if they have an afternoon off, if they've done the work they planned to do and hit their deadlines, good for them.
As a manager, I also ask them how they feel about their workload on a numerical scale (too little - to much) and also their mood with work on a numerical scale (poor - good). I'm not predicting anything or using it to measure performance, but look at trends and highlight when things change. When work starts getting high, or moods go down, we can start a conversation. Rather than the menial "how you doing?" "yeh good thanks" pointless small talk.
So all in all it's relatively good, albeit the difficulties that come with home working that we're all dealing with (kids, pets partners, technical issues etc).
We carried on this approach remotely during lockdown and it's been REALLY useful that it was already in place and I know I can trust my team and am measuring the output not hours put in. I don't really care if they have an afternoon off, if they've done the work they planned to do and hit their deadlines, good for them.
As a manager, I also ask them how they feel about their workload on a numerical scale (too little - to much) and also their mood with work on a numerical scale (poor - good). I'm not predicting anything or using it to measure performance, but look at trends and highlight when things change. When work starts getting high, or moods go down, we can start a conversation. Rather than the menial "how you doing?" "yeh good thanks" pointless small talk.
So all in all it's relatively good, albeit the difficulties that come with home working that we're all dealing with (kids, pets partners, technical issues etc).
Very interesting to hear from others.
We are an IT company, so as you would expect most of what we do can be worked on from home.
Teams has helped us a lot, however I would say I miss the ability to ask something across the office and everyone hear it at the same time. To do the same now, I have to get everyone into an online meeting, or talk to everyone individually.
Management of the team, the tasks they are doing etc has become a lot harder in my opinion. I have to be very much on point with tracking tasks and assigning them.
As others have said, I would imagine we would go to a 2 day office 3 day at home type setup after lockdown ends. I think people have had it good, saved a fortune in commuting costs and I would struggle to convince people to a full time return to the office.
One of my team found another job during the lockdown, so I had to recuit someone new. This was quite a challenge to be honest. Teams interviews were ok. But integrating someone and getting them up to speed isn't so easy.
We are an IT company, so as you would expect most of what we do can be worked on from home.
Teams has helped us a lot, however I would say I miss the ability to ask something across the office and everyone hear it at the same time. To do the same now, I have to get everyone into an online meeting, or talk to everyone individually.
Management of the team, the tasks they are doing etc has become a lot harder in my opinion. I have to be very much on point with tracking tasks and assigning them.
As others have said, I would imagine we would go to a 2 day office 3 day at home type setup after lockdown ends. I think people have had it good, saved a fortune in commuting costs and I would struggle to convince people to a full time return to the office.
One of my team found another job during the lockdown, so I had to recuit someone new. This was quite a challenge to be honest. Teams interviews were ok. But integrating someone and getting them up to speed isn't so easy.
andyb28 said:
Very interesting to hear from others.
One of my team found another job during the lockdown, so I had to recuit someone new. This was quite a challenge to be honest. Teams interviews were ok. But integrating someone and getting them up to speed isn't so easy.
Yeh this has been hard for us too. Missing out on the general office chat and hearing what goes on is non-existent, and we're noticing it's harder too.One of my team found another job during the lockdown, so I had to recuit someone new. This was quite a challenge to be honest. Teams interviews were ok. But integrating someone and getting them up to speed isn't so easy.
SprocketMan said:
andyb28 said:
Very interesting to hear from others.
One of my team found another job during the lockdown, so I had to recuit someone new. This was quite a challenge to be honest. Teams interviews were ok. But integrating someone and getting them up to speed isn't so easy.
Yeh this has been hard for us too. Missing out on the general office chat and hearing what goes on is non-existent, and we're noticing it's harder too.One of my team found another job during the lockdown, so I had to recuit someone new. This was quite a challenge to be honest. Teams interviews were ok. But integrating someone and getting them up to speed isn't so easy.
Ultimately I think my company will do some kind of part working from home model which will benefit everyone. Before this it was a strict no.
It’s certainly interesting to hear the employers views on this.
Organisations I’ve worked with are (possibly were?) anti WFH. The pandemic has revealed possibilities that WFH can work for the roles that supports it.
One of my ex manager has a view that everyone has to be in the office and be seen at their desk to prove that they are actually working , even though the task can be done remotely.
I do think that for someone to WFH it’s crucial that the infrastructure to support this is there. Good, reliable broadband and a decent working space. Flexibility to WFH at times are good, perhaps not fully remote as some activities would still be better off conducted in the office.
Organisations I’ve worked with are (possibly were?) anti WFH. The pandemic has revealed possibilities that WFH can work for the roles that supports it.
One of my ex manager has a view that everyone has to be in the office and be seen at their desk to prove that they are actually working , even though the task can be done remotely.
I do think that for someone to WFH it’s crucial that the infrastructure to support this is there. Good, reliable broadband and a decent working space. Flexibility to WFH at times are good, perhaps not fully remote as some activities would still be better off conducted in the office.
anxious_ant said:
It’s certainly interesting to hear the employers views on this.
Organisations I’ve worked with are (possibly were?) anti WFH. The pandemic has revealed possibilities that WFH can work for the roles that supports it.
One of my ex manager has a view that everyone has to be in the office and be seen at their desk to prove that they are actually working , even though the task can be done remotely.
I do think that for someone to WFH it’s crucial that the infrastructure to support this is there. Good, reliable broadband and a decent working space. Flexibility to WFH at times are good, perhaps not fully remote as some activities would still be better off conducted in the office.
I think a manager thinking that way is a poor manager, its his job to know what a fair output is for a day/weeks work. If his only way of knowing it is to see the person sat at their desk for 40hrs then hmmmm.Organisations I’ve worked with are (possibly were?) anti WFH. The pandemic has revealed possibilities that WFH can work for the roles that supports it.
One of my ex manager has a view that everyone has to be in the office and be seen at their desk to prove that they are actually working , even though the task can be done remotely.
I do think that for someone to WFH it’s crucial that the infrastructure to support this is there. Good, reliable broadband and a decent working space. Flexibility to WFH at times are good, perhaps not fully remote as some activities would still be better off conducted in the office.
WFH absolutely requires the right environment. For a feew months I think its less of an issue but to do it permanently I don't think somebody can be productive with a laptop on their sofa in the lounge, because there is nowhere else to work, while the wife, kids, dogs bound around them. many people do not have the luxury of a separate space to work in. .
I work in a tech start-up of about 30-40 people. The product requires HW and SW development. Like most others we've transitioned to full time home-working. We still have an office but it's been slimmed down to accommodate Covid distancing restrictions. On the R&D side we've pretty much been as productive as before. Those who have needed it have swiped whatever office equipment and tools they require. There have been some redundancies as a result of all this unfortunately.
Like others have said. What's missing is the team bonding activities and off-the-cuff chats. The non-verbal communication cues which allows some things to happen easier are missing and the side conversations you overhear where you learn about other peoples work.
Personally I enjoy working from home and moving forwards I'd like to have the freedom to basically dip in and out whenever I choose.
Like others have said. What's missing is the team bonding activities and off-the-cuff chats. The non-verbal communication cues which allows some things to happen easier are missing and the side conversations you overhear where you learn about other peoples work.
Personally I enjoy working from home and moving forwards I'd like to have the freedom to basically dip in and out whenever I choose.
GT03ROB said:
I think a manager thinking that way is a poor manager, its his job to know what a fair output is for a day/weeks work. If his only way of knowing it is to see the person sat at their desk for 40hrs then hmmmm.
WFH absolutely requires the right environment. For a feew months I think its less of an issue but to do it permanently I don't think somebody can be productive with a laptop on their sofa in the lounge, because there is nowhere else to work, while the wife, kids, dogs bound around them. many people do not have the luxury of a separate space to work in. .
Yes it was really stressful working in that environment. Everyone had to look busy even if they genuinely have some downtime. He likes it when everyone can be contacted immediately as and when needed. I used to enjoy client site visits even if it’s a long drive just to get away from the office. WFH absolutely requires the right environment. For a feew months I think its less of an issue but to do it permanently I don't think somebody can be productive with a laptop on their sofa in the lounge, because there is nowhere else to work, while the wife, kids, dogs bound around them. many people do not have the luxury of a separate space to work in. .
I wouldn’t have considered WFH at all if I didn’t have my own separate space to work. It’s just not healthy as there’s a absolutely no work and home life separation. Plus I know I won’t be productive at all working from the sofa.
I am very lucky in this respect and do appreciate not everyone would have this luxury. Hoping that my current employers would consider flexibility of partial WFH when this is over.
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