Six steps to successful work from home arrangements
By Jevita Nilson
An ever increasing desire for workplace flexibility, coupled with increased travel times and rapidly advancing technology are changing the nature of Australian workplaces. These factors are the key drivers to the recent increase in working from home requests. In Australia, more than two million people are on flexible work arrangements and the number is on the increase.
We have received a number of queries over the past few months from clients who have received working from home requests from their staff. We are finding that employers are cautious about entering into a work from home arrangement for a variety of reasons including concerns about health and safety regulations, fears about decreasing productivity or due to trust issues.
Most often it is just a fear of the ‘unknown’. Many SME owners have limited or no experience in establishing and managing a work from home arrangement and often fail to see the benefit of such an arrangement to their business.
Working from home arrangements can be mutually beneficial to both the employee and employer in that they allow the employee to gain a better work life balance, and therefore help to reduce absenteeism and increase job satisfaction. Offering flexible work arrangements also serves as a good attraction and retention initiative.
The key to establishing and maintaining a mutually beneficial working from home arrangement lies in creating and sustaining a high level of trust between employer and employee, and keeping the lines of communication open (especially during the initial stages).
Comprehensive application procedures, policies and review processes are also essential to ensure working from home arrangements are productive and to minimise legal risks to the business.
We advise employers to deal with work from home requests in the following manner:
- Establish a comprehensive work from home policy
A detailed policy which outlines how a work from home arrangement will operate is essential. This policy should detail the process for making a work from home request, outline the key eligibility factors, establish work and communication requirements, cover key issues such as health & safety and security, and outline how a work from home arrangement can be modified or terminated.
- Carefully consider work from home requests
Not all jobs or employees are suitable for home based work. When considering an employee’s work from home request, consider factors such as the nature of the employee’s role including types of tasks and level of contact with clients, the characteristics of the employee and their reasons for requesting to work from home, and the likely impact such an arrangement would have on other colleagues and the business as a whole.
However, be aware that the Fair Work Act gives certain employees (such as parents) the right to request flexible working arrangements and such requests must be considered and responded to in accordance with the Act.
- Complete a risk assessment of the home work environment
Under occupational health and safety legislation, the home based worksite is an extension of the workplace and therefore the same health and safety employer obligations apply. Before agreeing to any work from home requests, an assessment should be conducted of the home work environment to ensure it meets health and safety standards. This assessment can be conducted by the employee themselves and should cover areas such as lighting, ventilation, electrical hazards, trip hazards and other common ‘office’ health and safety issues.
- Ensure the employee reviews the work from home policy and signs an agreement
Documented evidence that the employee has read the policy and agrees to abide by the policy will help to minimise legal risks to the business.
- Ensure open communication is maintained throughout
Poor communication, especially in the initial stages, can result in home based employees feeling isolated and dissatisfied and can also lead to confusion about goals and guidelines.
A successful work from home arrangement will only occur when communication is frequent and clear goals and guidelines about the amount of work and the kind of work that will be produced are set and discussed regularly.
- Review the arrangement regularly
Regular reviews of work from home arrangements should be conducted to ensure the arrangements are still effective and suitable to all parties. If work from home arrangements are not working for either party, then modifications need to be discussed as soon as possible to maintain productivity.
