Some of your staff really want to work from home permanently. Here’s how you can make it happen

Remote working has really come of age in the last two years.

While many people have loved it, others have realised they prefer an office environment. 

But would you be able to guess how many people would like to work remotely permanently?

According to a new report, a huge 96% of employees would like to want to work solely from home, even when the pandemic is over.

Some people would even be willing to take a pay cut to make that happen.

But wait – it gets even more shocking. 

Of these people, a third said they’d be willing to sacrifice HALF of their monthly wage to be able to work remotely. 

Not only that, but they’d give up their health benefits and even paid time off.

Are you as shocked as we are?

In terms of work/life balance, some people have never had it better. And now that things are slowly recovering, they’re not willing to give it up without a fight. 

Many of your people might not want to go back to the stress, the distraction, the commuting… 

As an employer, giving the option to make remote or hybrid work permanent for your employees seems like an ideal solution. You’ve already seen that your people can be trusted to do a great job wherever they work. You may even have seen an increase in motivation and productivity.

Your business could even reduce some of its costs as office space is the big saving.

Of course, there’s much more to consider than how much you trust your team to continue doing a great job. Or how much you could potentially be saving on office space. 

If you haven’t already done so, you’ll need to make sure that everyone’s home working set-ups are suitable. 

If you’ve only had temporary work from home measures in place for the last 2 years, it’s time to make them official. 

The first priority is to look at data security. 

How do your people access your network? Do they have the right security measures installed on their devices? Are their home networks protected from unauthorised access? Can you stop their children using company devices?

But it’s not only security that needs t be considered.  

Look at the collaboration tools you’re using. If your team is unlikely to be in the same place at the same time, do you need to invest in a better solution for communication?

As well as reporting on salary sacrifices, the report also found that nearly 2 in 5 people feel ignored in video meetings. 

Upgrading their equipment and devices might be the answer. Professional quality webcams and microphones can help by making sure video quality is high and that people feel heard. 

Don’t forget that older laptops or desktops will likely need to be upgraded every few years to make sure they’re performing well.