Hybrid Working

Working from home + Working from office/site = Hybrid working

It took a pandemic for workplaces to recognise they could trust their employees enough to work from home. Isn’t that a shame? Now businesses are downsizing their building leases and saving hundreds of thousands of dollars by doing so. Some smaller businesses are giving up their business space all together and allowing employees to exclusively work from home.

 So what are the benefits and what are the implications for everyone? Well, that’s completely down to each individual’s experience of transitioning to hybrid working. When it was pretty much mandatory to attend the workplace for every minute you were supposed to be working, some employees really disliked the rigidness of this routine; whereas others thrived on it. Now the tables have turned, it’s much the same – some like it, some don’t.

 This beckons the question – is there an ideal answer?

For a business owner or leader, you need to ask yourself - how does hybrid working affect the business and my employees? Consider:

1.       What are the statutory requirements regarding COVID-19 and working from home?

TIP: Refer to Federal and State health requirements/restrictions. Also refer to Fair Work’s information on ‘Flexible Working Arrangements’.

2.       If the business preference is to introduce a hybrid working model, do my employees want to work from home?

TIP: Ask them.

Seriously consider their feedback before introducing any changes. Make it optional, not mandatory. Seek HR advice if you are thinking about introducing a significant workplace change.

Businesses should seriously factor in the following:

o   Businesses must adhere to Federal and State requirements regarding workers’ health and COVID-19.

o   They must understand and adhere to what working from home means in relation to Fair Work requirements, aka Flexible Working Arrangements.

o   Be realistic and assertive about what will work, eg. A Truck Driver who requests to work from home, obviously can’t work from home.

o   Think about the final decision regarding a ‘work from home’ request, are you just leaning towards ‘no’ because you’ve never done it before? Are you adhering to Fair Work requirements? Could there potentially be benefits for the business to approve the request?

o   Does your business have an up-to-date ‘Working from Home’ policy in place?

o   Is a risk assessment completed before an employee begins working from home?

If you have questions regarding any of the above bullet points, please give us a call, we’re here to help.