The new normal of working from home has become an unexpected positive to come out of the COVID pandemic. For the most part, employers and their employees are both enjoying the benefits of this change, and most intend to keep remote work (or WFH) alive long after the pandemic is over.
Some of the benefits enjoyed by employees are having the right tech and adequate workspace at home, meeting deadlines on time with fewer interruptions in the process, and increased motivation to work. Of course, all of this combined means greater job satisfaction and lower turnover rates.
Employers are benefitting as well with lower overhead costs. Working from home enables businesses to save an average of 22k per full-time employee and 11k per part-time employee every single year. That’s a national savings of $700 billion per year.
Despite all the positives, working from home has still brought new challenges to the workforce. As a rule, humans don’t like significant changes, and often, changes are met with distrust. Such as the case with remote work, but unfortunately, the suspicion has come between employers and their employees.
Currently, close to half of all employers have doubts about their employees’ work ethic. Remote work amplifies this issue, and the unfortunate result is micromanagement.
Micromanagement is a giant productivity killer and is the number one stressor for employees in 2021. Even though job satisfaction is rising, 69% of employees would consider leaving their jobs when micromanagement is an issue.
One way to alleviate some mistrust is by putting AI technology to work in specific procedures that don’t need human assistance. For instance, things like timesheets, scheduling, leave management, and payroll app management can all be automated and help reduce mistrust.
Creating an environment of trust in the workplace is paramount to creating a productive workforce and profitable business.
What do you think of WFH workers? Please share your thoughts on any of the social media pages listed below. You can also comment on our MeWe page by joining the MeWe social network.
