‘Living at Work’ during the Covid19 pandemic

Many of us have been ‘Living at Work’ during the pandemic as working from home has become the norm for a lot of people but with Covid restrictions looking to ease and the government keen to have workers return to the office what does the future hold?

For a while now we have been reading that Hybrid (or Blended) Working is likely to become the new model — we are all now familiar with the term and the fact that this is likely to be the ‘new normal’ for a large proportion of employees but what does it mean for the organisation, employee and HR?

Whilst working from home offers many advantages, such as the lack of the daily commute, most people still appreciate the face-to face contact that is not carried out over the internet which will necessitate some time spent in the office environment. Work is about so much more than just getting the job done with the social aspect of physical interaction being as important. Hybrid working offers the best of both worlds with an employee’s time spent both working remotely but also attending the office.

Studies have shown that a significant majority of employees are in favour of blended working with the benefits of an improved work/life balance, reduced commuting times, decreased travel costs and more time for friends and family. The upshot of this is likely to be shown as higher levels of motivation and improved job satisfaction.

I’ve been a hybrid worker for a number of years now but for many individuals it will represent a significant shift in the ways of working that they are not used to and this will need to be prepared for.

For myself I appreciate not having to take a day off work if say, I have an electrician booked. I also find that I tend to eat better as I am not popping out to grab a sandwich and a bag of crisps for lunch which is what I tend to do when I am in the office. The downside is that it is usual to work longer hours — although that is offset to a degree but not spending up to four hours a day commuting. In fact were I to be looking to change employer I would actively seek out those offering hybrid working and I believe I would not be alone in this.

A number of major organisations have already announced that they will be adopting the new hybrid working model although exactly how this will look has not yet been clearly defined.

Why would an organisation consider offering hybrid working? With the emphasis on employee wellbeing, hybrid working offers an improved work/life balance and those organisations not offering hybrid working may well find an increase in employee turnover with a reduced ability to attract talented employees. Reduced employee travel can also contribute to a company’s ‘green’ commitments with a reduction in carbon emissions. With fewer employees in the office each day an organisation could also make savings on office space longer term.

Another advantage is that it increases inclusivity, enabling organisations to recruit new workers who traditionally may have been excluded due to disability or demographics.

HR have a key role to play in the introduction of hybrid working, especially in the creation of new hybrid working policies, communications, manager training and data capture.

Early adopter HR tasks

1. Points that need consideration for new hybrid working policies include:

· Who is eligible?

· Which roles are not eligible and why?

· Expectations on when office attendance is required.

· Is there a defined percentage of time the employee can work remotely?

· How flexible is the policy — are there set days the employee is expected to be in the office?

· One size may not fit all — different roles may need a different working profile.

· Will all team members all be expected to attend the office on specific dates?

· What are the arrangements for office attendance?

· Flexi-hours / full day / part day attendance.

· Hot desks are likely to be more common.

· Will booking office space be required?

2. HR will need to guide managers on the likely emphasis shift for performance management with outcomes, contribution and value needing to be measured with results being more important than ‘presenteeism’. Performance management will become more about coaching employees to achieve the required outcomes. Long office-based hours as a workplace culture to be valued will no longer apply.

3. Employee contracts will need to be reviewed and re-issued as appropriate together with a review of employee expenses policies. Consideration will also need to be given as to how to record an employee’s hybrid work schedule. What will their work location be recorded as — office/home/somewhere else ? Will their expected office days need to be recorded?

Interestingly whilst the number of people now working from home due to the pandemic has increased there has been a reduction in the uptake of flexible hours working and in the rush to adopt hybrid working policies an organisation should not lose sight of the value that flexible hours working offers.

In my role as a senior HR functional consultant for PeopleSoft HCM, naturally my thoughts turned to how HR and managers could best utilise the functionality and power of their PeopleSoft HR system in order to accurately record when an employee was due to be in the office and when they would be working from home. This information would be vital in the event of an emergency evacuation of the office premises.

Employee and Manager Self Service also became so much more important when transactions are having to be processed remotely from the office. Making this as simple and intuitive as possible is the key to successful uptake. PeopleSoft’s guided self service provides you with a powerful tool in order to achieve this and when used in conjunction with PICASO — PeopleSoft’s digital assistant — you can really begin to unleash an impressive user experience.

About the author:

Liz Derrer has been part of the Version 1’s PeopleSoft team for over 7 years and has over 20 years’ experience in PeopleSoft HCM, working on projects across the UK, Europe and USA.

If you have any questions or would like more information on how Version 1 can help you realise the full potential of your PeopleSoft HCM, please contact her at liz.derrer@version1.com.

Do look out for her series of blogs in the near future.