Many of our member companies are creating policies to push professionals back into the office. The return to on-site work is good news for some but bad news for many others. Many of us found that by working remotely, we can be just as effective (if not more), just as fast (if not quicker), all while having a better quality of life (and who doesn’t want a better quality of life?) Working from home can be a huge benefit.
Of course, remote work is not always a benefit in the HR sense of the word. Remote working for many organizations resulted from the pandemic and was not an official Benefit (with a capital B) on the list of employee benefits. Many companies did not promise remote working indefinitely. But could we?
Some organizations argue that their staff can’t handle working remotely, and they believe some employees are taking too many liberties during work time. Would a reachable hours policy work, or how about an as-long-as-you-get-your-work-done policy? Others argue that in-person is necessary for breaking down silos, creating the right culture, and cross-pollinating ideas. Some companies have effectively done all these things virtually, and nothing says you can’t gather everyone monthly or quarterly.
So benefits that are not official benefits can be substantial tangible benefits sometimes. Perhaps when we find our member companies doing some group thinking on only one side of an issue, we can help them see the other side.
Related:
- Increase happiness at work
- Disprove our assumptions about how we work
- The world of work can be inhumane, but associations can be the opposite