Dear Reader,

Having employees who work from home on a regular basis can have great benefits – both for you and your employees.

The employee can fulfill their family obligations more easily by not having to worry about long, time-consuming commutes, and it gives you an avenue to keep valuable staff happy and retain their services.

But don’t just assume that allowing an employee to work form home is as easy as saying “Go for it”.

There are a number of things you need to consider before allowing employees to work from home on a regular basis…

1. You will need to consider how you will be able to effectively assess the employee’s performance.

For example, you may have to come to an agreement with the employee that they send you through weekly or monthly reports on their progress.

Alternatively, you may want to introduce a more stringent goal-setting process – e.g. arrange monthly meetings with the employee to set goals and targets for the next month. This will make it easier for you to measure the employee’s performance.

2. You will need to consider the effect of working alone and having minimal contact with others on the employee.

It is a good idea for you to introduce measures that ensure employees who work from home don’t feel isolated or ignored.

One thing you could do to combat this is create a regular communication schedule between the employee and other staff members. You could also arrange a support group of sorts consisiting of other employees who also work from home.

Another option is to arrange regular meetings with the employee where they come into the office to meet with you or other managers and employees.

And don’t forget – it is also your legal responsibility to ensure that an employee’s home office space is safe, comfortable and free of OHS risks!

It is not enough for you to just assume that an office an employee sets up in their own home will be adequate in terms of OHS.

Check out Charles’ article below for information on how to make sure your employee’s home office is safe and without risks to health.

Until next time…

Claire Berry
Workplace Bulletin