Working from home – avoid the chaos?
At the risk of stating the obvious – it has not been smooth sailing for employers and employees these last few months. Worse still, disruption and uncertainty looms far ahead.
With Britain’s largest rail union the RMT involved in long-running industrial disputes across 14 train operators and Network Rail, it is difficult to see when this will end.
However, while the railway network has seen the most widespread strikes, it merely highlights a growing wave of unrest within the public sector and particularly within transport infrastructure.
Both the National Highways and Vehicle Standards Agency have seen traffic officers and control room staff walkout this month. And with other strikes staged by the PCS, the civil servants’ union and nurses and ambulance workers, the disruption continues.
While some remain hopeful that a deal may be found to end the industrial action, the financial pressures that the railways are under – in part due to the financial crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic has many wondering what service commuters will have once this disruption ends.
What cannot be ignored is the fact that it is the transport infrastructure that appears to be at the tip of the unrest. For those making the daily commute, and the employers expecting them to, the disruption and lack of efficiency in travelling to the workplace (if possible) only adds to the growing trend of working from home.
With companies such as E-spaces Design and Create Ltd offering a turnkey office solution for as little as £6,400 (2.2m x 2m office pod) the attraction is clear. The annual cost of a weekly commute from Oxford to London is predicted to rise to £6,096 from £5,756 in March. It doesn’t take much to realise that payback in 13 months makes this an excellent initial investment that then provides a long-term saving.
Moreover, with flu and Covid cases seeing a surge this winter, the ability to avoid a crowded commute or busy office becomes more appealing to many.
While many employers were keen to see a return to the workplace, it is clear that hybrid working has its place and it appears that hybrid work patterns increase employee loyalty. According to Alexia Gambon of Remit, “the data says that if you rescind flexible working, employees will leave.”
This uncertainty has certainly had an impact. E-spaces Design and Create co-owner Ray Bird says he has seen “a significant increase in demand from the Home Counties commuter who has rationalised the idea of how working from a garden office has numerous benefits to them.”