As more businesses adopt remote work, it’s critical to have a complete strategy in place to guarantee that workers are efficient, responsible, and safe while doing so. Businesses are turning to work from home (WFH) models as the need for flexible work arrangements rises to make sure employees take advantage of these benefits while still satisfying job criteria.
Effective remote employment possibilities can increase the number of competent applicants, reduce overhead expenses for the business, and boost productivity in general. You may make a work from home policy that benefits your employees and improves their job satisfaction by understanding its goal.
What is a Work From Home Policy?
A work from home policy is a contract or set of rules that an employer develops outlining the conditions and requirements for employees who wish to work from home. The policy provides information on eligibility requirements, remote work privilege requests, and the approval procedure. Additionally, it offers advice on how employees should handle remote work and takes technology, security, tools like work from home monitoring software and privacy concerns into account.
How to Make a Work From Home Policy?
Here are steps to make a work from home policy:
1. Establish a Clear Purpose
Clearly define the goals of this policy, both in terms of the document’s goals and the outcomes you expect to achieve by allowing employees to work from home. In the end, your work from home policy should strengthen your employee value proposition (EVP), improve the experience of your team members at your business, and be consistent with your fundamental values. Explain the purpose of the policy and how it will be put into practice going forward.
2. State who the Policy Affects
List the positions in your company that are eligible for remote work. Consider client-facing obligations, software constraints, and cybersecurity dangers. To reduce pointless WFH requests and avoid frustration, clearly define all role constraints.
Define the kind of person who is qualified to work from home if you want to have a more selective acceptance process based on individual suitability. When determining if an employee qualifies for work from home, there are a few questions you should ask yourself:
- Are they dependable and show up for work?
- Can they function on their own?
- Do they possess established prioritization and organization skills?
Last but not least, specify any tenure needed for workers to benefit from the work from home policy, whether that be three months or a full year.
3. Outline a Procedure for the Work From Home Request Process
How can employees approach asking for WFH time? Describe the full procedure in this part. Should employees speak with their manager? Is there a formal submission? Before making a request, do employees need to apply to be considered for the policy? Give employees a step-by-step rundown of what they must do to be able to work from home, and give links as needed.
4. Explain the Approval Process
Specify who will be approving requests for work from home and how each request will be assessed. Will each manager independently assess requests, or will HR be in charge of it? If a manager or HR professional is unsure whether a worker would be effective working remotely or not, they should use their best judgement. But they should also take into account the following:
- Does the employee’s employment require them to interact with customers?
- Does the employee have access to confidential material that, if accessible outside the workplace, may endanger our company’s reputation or the interests of our customers?
- Is the worker’s workspace at home distracting?
- Will the individual working remotely jeopardies the success of your team or make it challenging for work form home employees to communicate, collaborate, or meet our goals?
5. Set Work From Home Days
Describe the conditions under which employees may use the work from home policy in this section. Will you allow for weekly “WFH Wednesdays,” or will workers be able to work from home as necessary? Will there be team days when everyone must be present at work?
Declare it explicitly in the policy so there is no ambiguity when the dates come around if there are specific times of the year when remote work is not permitted, such as the last week of the month for sales representatives or during all-hands meetings.
6. List Acceptable Reasons to Work From Home
Give instances of legitimate justifications for a work from home request if you do not grant WFH rights to all employees. Make it clear that notwithstanding the reasons given, the employee must nonetheless submit a request in order for it to be taken into account.
The following list of factors could lead an employee to need to work from home:
- parenting obligations.
- status of illness or disability.
- work-life harmony.
- throughout the working day.
- Transit delays.
- dangerous weather.
- domestic or private emergencies.
- Other explanations were reviewed with supervisors and were approved.
7. Designate Specific Working Hours
Indicate whether or not employees must be online at a certain time (for example, between 9am and 5pm), and whether or not time zones will affect working hours. Alternatively, establish the expectation that managers and employees will decide on working hours on a case-by-case basis depending on the manager’s demands and the employee’s duties.
8. Outline Communication, Responsiveness, and Availability Expectations
If employees just sometimes work from home, it’s likely that they are doing it for personal reasons like work-life balance, parenting, or illness. As a result, their focus could be divided between their work obligations and outside issues.
Consider creating communication standards to make sure everything gets done. Is it mandatory for employees to be online and reachable throughout the entire working day, or just during set core hours? How should WFH staff manage their out-of-office meeting commitments? Establish clear expectations so that workers can better balance their personal obligations with their professional obligations and remain productive throughout the day. Establish clear standards for response and preferred communication channels. By doing this, you hold remote workers responsible and establish guidelines for office staff.
9. Take care of office Supplies and Maintenance Requirements
Explain whether you will equip your employees’ home workspaces with supplies or other facilities in addition to providing them with equipment and gadgets. Legally speaking, it’s crucial to specify which duties you, as the employer, will take on and which belong to the employee in terms of upkeep.
Employees are likely required, for instance, to keep their offices tidy and equipped to promote productive work environments. A monthly “office supply” stipend is a terrific benefit if you decide to provide team members with standard office supplies like pens, notebooks, and staplers.
10 Define Security Requirements
It is critical that you clearly define security standards, such as avoiding working on important projects in public settings or on public Wi-Fi networks, as you cannot control the type of network your employees have access to at home. You might need to provide security tools, such as a Virtual Private Network (VPN), to enable working from home for your staff in order to safeguard both your workers and your company.
Clearly state what is expected of staff who work with clients. Do they require a private line to place calls on? You cannot manage or ensure the security of your firm if you don’t make clear how staff members are expected to behave when working on client assignments.
Benefits of Work From Home Policy
1. Saves Money
The cost-saving aspect of a work from home policy is one of its most evident advantages. If you are no longer required to rent or maintain office space, you save on operational and overhead-related expenditures. This money can be put back into the company in other places, including employee pay and perks or marketing and advertising campaigns.
2. Builds a Culture of Trust
Providing remote working options to staff members can promote engagement and mutual trust. They believe that they are respected and cared for by their employer and that they may finish their work with little oversight. A business can promote an open culture that keeps its employees content, devoted, and productive.
3. Boosts Employee Satisfaction
Because they can meet both their professional and personal requirements, employees who have a better work-life balance are frequently happier. Work is often made more difficult by lengthy journeys and frequent breaks used inside the office. Team members can save time, money, and energy at home.
4. Enhances Employee Productivity
Remote workers may be more productive than those who use the productivity monitoring software and operate in an office environment. They might experience fewer interruptions or need to take frequent pauses to chat with co-workers. Telecommuters may also have more control over their working environment, which might aid in improving their concentration.
5. Increases Talent Retention
Companies could work to keep workers on board to help with costs like hiring and training. Team members may feel more secure in their jobs if there is a policy against remote work. A decrease in turnover is the outcome.
Conclusion
Micromanaging from a distance will enrage workers and make them leave. When done correctly, remote work is a wonderful bonus that may significantly increase employee engagement levels. Employers who are trusted and treated with respect will show their loyalty to you.
If your business has previously permitted remote work for some time, allowing it to continue can be very alluring to your staff. In addition to supporting work-life balance, WFH flexibility communicates to employees that they are truly appreciated as individuals, which is important for attracting fresh talent. It exhibits the employer’s flexibility and empathy, two qualities that will draw top talent and keep them on board.
