New Zealand is now three years on since Covid forced the country into lockdown. With many significant changes to our day-to-day lives, perhaps none more so than the way we worked through lockdowns.
Covid forced us to rethink the way we work in the most significant way since the internet was widely available. For many of us, this looked like hunkering down from our makeshift home office and getting on with it. After such an extended period working from home, this is something that we as a workforce have become accustomed to, started to enjoy, and more crucially now expect from our employer. With lockdowns in the past, adjusting back to the ‘new normal’ is something that many employers are struggling with as their workforce have changed expectations on working from home flexibility.
As specialist Property recruiters, a question we hear regularly is; “What is the working from home policy?” There are several factors to consider when establishing a working from home policy. The first thing to note is to be an employer of choice in this competitive market, you must have one. The balance between flexibility to work from home and office culture, impacts on training and development and productivity are all things that need to be considered when establishing a policy that fits with your business needs.
Having the option to work from home has afforded maybe one of the most valuable commodities available, time. There is no question a lot of us are now more time poor than ever, eliminating wasted time in a commute means we can start to reclaim time in other areas of our lives. With employees now spending that time in valuable ways, like more time with family, exercising and socialising, all incredibly important aspects of a healthy work life balance. On the whole, this shift to more flexible working has been a huge and fast-tracked progression in the way we work and the wellbeing of employees, but it does come at a cost.
Employers are struggling to create that ever sought-after office culture where teams thrive and succeed together, because it’s now near impossible to get everyone together. Having an office environment people want to spend time in is one of the best ways to foster a collaborative team. It allows for ease of communication, training and development, mentorship, and productivity.
The onus is now on employers to get the balance right. With a restricted talent pool in the property industry, employers are in stiff competition for good talent. To both attract and retain quality employees, we recommend having a thought out ‘working from home policy’, otherwise the reality is you will miss out on potentially suitable candidates. Policies can be flexible to suit needs of individuals or be more structured to have two anchor days in the office, many businesses are making these Monday and Friday.
The transition to working from home was a complex and novel experience, so as we transition back into this new normal, it is expected that it may take some time to get the balance right. Working from home is here to stay but returning to the office is something that we all need to embrace.
The team at Assemble would be happy to chat through ways to best get this balance right for you so give one of our specialist recruiters a call.