Flexible working

Although working at home can be beneficial, it can be a challenge for both organisations and employees. Employers have the same health and safety responsibilities for home workers as for any other practitioners, so risks should be recognised, assessed, and managed. The following issues should be considered:

• Which roles can and cannot be done remotely?

• Who may or may not want to work remotely? How would this impact on other team members and people who are being supported?

• What work activities will they be doing (and for how long)?

• Can these activities be done safely (paying particular attention to psychosocial risks)?

• How will any concerns be identified and managed?

• How will leaders keep in touch with practitioners?

• Are any groups of people at greater risk of the negative effects of homeworking?

When supporting the mental health and wellbeing of people working at home organisations should:

• Promote safe and healthy working practices.

• Manage stress and mental health, identifying specific risk factors.

• Provide support and regular check-ins.

• Encourage routine and structure.

• Review and, if necessary, revise goals and targets; involve staff in this process.

• Trust staff and avoid excessive monitoring and measuring of productivity such as remote tracking.

• Be aware of ‘Zoom fatigue’ and place limitations on online meetings where possible.

• Promote informal support mechanisms, such as virtual coffee mornings, book clubs, etc.

• Provide guidance on setting physical and psychological boundaries between ‘work’ and ‘home’.

• Discourage ‘e-presenteeism’, as the pressure to be ‘present’ can be greater when working at home.

• Role model healthy behaviours, such as switching off from technology and avoiding presenteeism.

A range of useful resources is available to help organisations support the wellbeing of homeworkers toolkit provided by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) offers guidance on key issues such as stress and mental health and lone working without supervision, the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) provides a questionnaire and guide to help support people to continue working from home.

The HSE Management Standards framework can also help employers assess the psychosocial risks of homeworking and inform interventions. Wellness Action Plans are discussed in KFP5 Wellbeing, but one is available here to help identify the individual behaviours, thoughts and actions that may affect the wellbeing of homeworkers and the support that their manager and colleagues can put in place.

Another guide from the same source is available here for people who are working in a hybrid style.