With more employees than ever working some or all of their time at home, how can employers ensure their health, safety and wellbeing are effectively managed? Becky Spencer reports.

There is no doubt that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic changed working arrangements in the UK. Between December 2019 and March 2022, the number of people homeworking in the UK more than doubled from 4.7 million to 9.9 million people.

At the time, government guidance meant many people had no choice but to work from home, however since then homeworking and hybrid working (a combination of homeworking and at the normal workplace) have continued to be popular with employees.

Last month, an ONS survey found 40 per cent of people in GB had worked from home for some or all of the time over the previous seven days, with the majority of these (28 per cent) hybrid working.

Hybrid working has become standard practice for many organisations, with 84 per cent of business leaders surveyed by the Institute of Directors saying they plan to offer their office-based staff some degree of remote working in the long-term.

And since the introduction  of the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 in April this year, millions more workers  gained the right to request flexible working – both in terms of hours and place of work ­– from the first day of employment.

Studies have shown that for employees the two main benefits of home/hybrid working are improved work/life balance and improved wellbeing. Businesses also report improved staff wellbeing as the most common reason for them moving to hybrid/homeworking. However, concerns about staff mental wellbeing due to isolation are cited as a key challenge of hybrid/homeworking for both employees and employers.  

But time has moved on and employees and employers have shown a willingness to adopt new working practices in order to make home/hybrid working work for them. Many lessons have been learnt on how to do it right, so that employees get the wellbeing benefits and employers reap the rewards of having happier employees with higher job satisfaction.

Getting the basics right

Employers have the same legal duty to look after the health and safety of their employees whilst they are working from home as they do when they are in the workplace. Conducting a suitable risk assessment is the starting point.

The risk assessment should consider the home working environment, use of IT equipment as well as manual handling, if required. In most cases, employees can complete a self-assessment of the risks at home, provided they have been given suitable training.

Importantly, employers also need to consider their employees’ mental health as part of their risk assessment. Improved wellbeing may be a significant benefit of home/hybrid working for employees but it isn’t a given. If home/hybrid working isn’t managed correctly, staff can become overwhelmed, isolated, stressed and in the worst cases – burnt out.

It is up to employers to consider the potential work stressors in the home working environment and take action to prevent them. Some steps to prevent work-related stress are simple, such as making sure employees have the right IT equipment to do their jobs, have a good Wi-Fi connection so they can work efficiently, and are fully-trained in how to use any software/apps, etc needed to do their jobs at home.

Other potential stressors, such as workload, working time, and isolation from lack of social contact with work colleagues take more time to address but getting them right will bring the wellbeing benefits that both home/hybrid workers and employers want.

Line management is key

A line manager’s job is not an easy one and the shift to home/hybrid working has placed a lot more responsibility on their shoulders, particularly when it comes to their team members’ mental health and wellbeing.

Supervising employees’ workloads and keeping a check on their stress levels is a major part of good line management and is arguably more straightforward to do when your team is all in the same place. But there are practical steps line managers can take to manage the risks of work-related stress and mental health problems for home/hybrid workers.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) advises:

• Speak to team members regularly about workloads, demands and training needs.
• Talk openly with them about the possibility of them becoming stressed or mentally unwell. The mental health charity Mind has produced free guidance for line managers on how to open up a dialogue with home/hybrid workers about their needs and experiences, so managers can provide  better support for their wellbeing.
• Involve home/hybrid workers in completing stress risk assessments so they can help identify potential problems and solutions.
• Encourage them to take regular breaks and make sure people aren't working too long to meet unrealistic deadlines or feel obliged to answer emails outside normal working hours.
• Keep home/hybrid workers updated on what is happening in the organisation/team so they feel involved and reassured.
• Have regular keep-in-touch meetings or calls so they can share any concerns.
• Make home/hybrid workers aware of any occupational support available to them.
• Take account of the needs of the individual – if someone is a homeworker for medical reasons you may need to meet their needs differently.

Support your line managers

The shift to home/hybrid working has meant line managers have had to adjust their management style and practices in order to carry out their role effectively. In some workplaces, line managers may feel they have less control when people are working from home but it doesn’t have to be that way if the right policies and procedures are in place, and the right work culture is created so that people still feel part of a team.

Line managers need to be given the tools and training needed to manage home/hybrid workers. Recent research led by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) found many managers lack confidence in motivating their remote working teams, as well as in running meetings and managing conflict remotely, mainly because they haven’t received the right training. However, a CMI pilot project found that after receiving hybrid working training and support, managers’ confidence in their ability to resolve conflict, have difficult conversations online, keep teams motivated, manage underperformance, and  build connection and cohesion among hybrid teams, doubled. 

And an improvement in management skills is not the only benefit of providing training in managing remote workers. Previous research carried out by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found perceptions of productivity differed between organisations that had offered such training and those that hadn’t. Of those employers who provided managers with hybrid working training, 43 per cent said productivity had increased during homeworking, compared to 29 per cent that hadn’t offered training. 

The future

Home/hybrid working is here to stay. A 2023 survey of around 2,000 employees found that having home/hybrid working options is one of the top three factors they take into account when considering a new job, mainly because it supports a good work/life balance.
For employers who put the effort into getting home/hybrid working right, the benefits are also clear. A happier, healthier workforce with improved job satisfaction, as well as improved staff retention and access to a wider talent pool when recruiting.

Useful links

• Hybrid working - A practical guide, CIPD
• Hybrid working - Guidance for people professionals, CIPD
• Making hybrid inclusive - A guide for employers, CMI/Work Foundation
• Home and hybrid working requests, ACAS
• Remote and hybrid work: managing safety and health anywhere, EU-OSHA