Following the impact of the COVID pandemic working from home, or hybrid working, will become "the norm" for many companies in Europe says global workspace provider International Workplace Group (IWG). 

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Staff spending part of the week working from home is becoming normal for some firms, according to data. A survey (2021) by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) found that 84% of managers said their companies had adopted some form of hybrid working around 2/3 of which had been prompted by the pandemic. The CMI encouraged firms to embrace hybrid working as ‘best practice’ with Chief Executive Ann Francke saying companies will need to ‘blend’ their approach.  

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Given this situation workplaces need to iron out issues with their remote working capability e.g., IT systems, as accessing these systems from home can be a serious challenge – not least because of the network pressures and outages reported by some internet and mobile network providers during the early weeks of nationwide remote working.

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With many employees owning smartphones or tablets for personal use rather than laptops or desktop computers, the switch to remote working where company-provided IT was not available has left some employees unable to work. Due to a surge in demand for laptops, one major insurance company eventually had to let staff take their desktop PCs home with them.

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Technology, which is vitally important, is a major stressor for people if technology fails. Some of these systems staff will be using for the first time, so it’s really important where you’re having large-scale shifts to homeworking that IT departments really make sure that people have the tools they need to do the job. Can they print at home, for example? A lot of people don’t have a printer.

Employers need to undertake a 'technology audit' of those staff that have been designated as working from home and provide the necessary training and support to ensure staff become competent using new technologies.

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Having little control over what condition employees’ personal IT equipment is in could also present cyber security risks for businesses. Ben Griffin, director at cyber security firm Computer Disposals, says employers need reliable tools to keep workers’ productive and company data safe.

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“First, you’ll need to assess your technology infrastructure. Are things like bandwidth and storage capacity at levels that can handle regular remote operations?” he says. “Security is crucial too. VPNs can be used to establish secure connections and communications between remote employees and the company’s IT computer network, while multi-factor authentication strengthens the stronghold you have over your remote security.”

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Remote working policies need to be defined and procedures put in place to ensure smooth operations if technical difficulties arise.

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These technology issues make it vital that both staff and Managers need appropriate training and support to make working from home technologically effective and efficient.

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PROJECT PARTNERS

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The 4Civility Institute (Ireland) - PROMOTER
CONSORZIO FRIULI FORMAZIONE (Italy)
Greek Exporters Association (SEVE) (Greece)
EUROPEAN REGIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR CO-OPERATION (ERFC) (Greece)

EOLAS (Spain)

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