The financial industry made a high-speed switch to home offices in March 2020 when COVID-19 forced widespread lockdowns. This brought a new wave of hybrid working. A recent survey showed 24% of the UK’s million financial services staff wanted to continue to work from home. A further 69% of respondents said they would prefer to work remotely 2 days a week and only 8% said they want to return back to the office full-time. So going by those figures, financial workers want flexible-remote working but does it work?
Studies have shown that over the past few months, productivity while working from home is better than working in an office setting. Eliminating employees’ daily commutes and establishing a regular remote working routine can improve, not only productivity, but overall employee health. Employees have become more active while working remotely. Many now go out on daily walks during break/lunchtimes and have began eating more healthily. A study from Talk Talk showed that employers have recorded a 30% increase in productivity amongst their employees and 35% found their teams are more collaborative when working remotely.
At the beginning of the dramatic shift to remote working, the financial industry struggled getting to grips with the overall running of their businesses. However,
Many companies realised they no longer needed their paper files and most have become totally paperless. The move to a hybrid working model has also led to many businesses re-considering their space requirements. Technologically-enabled employees and greater degrees of trust have proven just how unnecessary it is to work exclusively out of the office. This has allowed employees to continue to work remotely part of the time meaning businesses need less space. It’s a win-win scenario with staff no longer expected to commute to work every day of the week and trusted to work productively outside of the office. Downsizing drastically reduces overheads with no massive rent and rate payments. Flexible working provides a long-term solution, offering the best of remote and office-based working.
Working from home might not be suited to everyone’s personality or ability. Some employees might prefer the routine and structure that working in an office environment provides them. Some staff may prefer personal interaction with colleagues and also find face-to-face guidance with their manager extremely beneficial in helping them complete tasks. Another drawback is that staff often feel isolated when working from home. They feel a disconnect from colleagues and clients which a natural office environment would usually prevent.
There could be difficulty managing home workers and monitoring their performance. Different personalities may also respond too monitoring with varying degrees of positivity. An office provides a clear physical distinction between work and home life, working at home can lead to staff forgetting to differentiate between work-life and home-life. Employees find it difficult to know when to switch off from work leading to longer hours and increased stress.
Whether you are looking for a flexible working position or a full time in-office position, we have you covered at Hire IQ. A client working with HireIQ Recruitment will be in total control of their career or the growth of their business. We are here to give suggestions; provide choice and ensure you are best positioned to succeed. Contact us today for any inquiries!