Working From Home: Beneficial or Detrimental?

The global pandemic forced construction industry employers the world over to confront the challenge of a workforce entirely self-isolated within their own homes. As a result, the concept and frequency of “working from home” shifted radically, with the concept arguably becoming more contentious and divisive than ever before. With new advancements in technologies of communication, as well as other sectors like the tech and finance industries opting more and more for home-based employees, a general assessment of the value of working from home within the construction industry would perhaps be useful.

Productivity and staff satisfaction

The flexibility of working from home can allow for greater productivity, that is if you are a non-site-based professional. In 2013, a study found that working from home upped productivity by 13%. Clearly if true, this would offer a tangible benefit to both employer and employee. 

Perhaps workers are not caught up in possibly constraining routines of an office environment if they are working at home and self-managing themselves? There is perhaps also a greater incentive to get more done in the working time available rather than working their specific shift until it is finished increasing efficiency and productivity. Time is also saved by the lack of a commute; booting up a computer is all it takes to travel from home to work it can be claimed! With technologies like Zoom, Teams and Skype now commonplace, communication, contribution and sharing of ideas and projects is easier than ever.

Furthermore, because of time management being the responsibility of the individual, it is claimed to be common to find greater satisfaction in staff who work from home, and this appears to have a knock-on effect on staff retention because happy employees choose to stay with their employer for longer.

However, working from home is not always as productive and valuable as the initial impression may give. Obviously WFH is not an option for site-based workers, but many studies have also concluded that productivity is not enhanced if living conditions are sub-optimal (eg without a private quiet study/working area), or even if their working style or particular job duties are not compatible with the particular requirements of their work tasks.

Furthermore, what happens if a client the business is working for requests an urgent face to face meeting to discuss an urgent problem and the employee responsible is based far away from the company office or site where the meeting has been requested to take place? These are potentially important operational issues to consider when planning and implementing a working from home program.  The needs of the employer and their customers are important to consider alongside employee preferences.  It is one thing to attract them due to a work from home arrangement, but another to ensure the work is done in a manner that satisfies your customers and grows your business.

Costs

Allowing working from home can significantly decrease costs for employers in several different areas.  The need for office space is reduced, with people working from home so smaller buildings to be rented or owned.

Travel costs can be substantially reduced, with fees for parking spaces, public transport or fuel for a personal vehicle becoming much lower. These costs were sometimes bourn by the employer or at other times by the employee depending on a number of factors including whether such costs were taxable benefits in kind or business expenses. Being asked to return to the office on a daily basis has often caused controversy about this money having to be spent on commuting once again and whose responsibility to pay for it it has now become.

Company culture and cohesion

Connection can sometimes be enhanced by technology; apps like Zoom, with the possibility of scheduled meetings, emphasise collaboration and create a certain order and cohesion to the process of online work, but are these as effective as a face to face meeting in allowing collaboration and the development of working relationships? How does it feel to your business?

One of the biggest arguments against working from home that employees give is the isolation it can create. The traditional collaboration brought about through face-to-face interaction is cut off and there is a lack of spontaneity, which can be disheartening and dull. Distanced interaction could also mean a greater chance of miscommunication and a lack of ability to gauge tone, possibly turning a simple task in person, into a communication nightmare and potentially lost productivity and damage to future business potential?

Sometimes, in all honesty, most employers, and many employees would confess that working from home can at times be an excuse (or a cover) for laziness. Some people WFH may skip meetings, take time off during their working day or become distracted and reduce their work intensity because of the seemingly more casual nature of online work. This is exactly why it is important that when you work from home, that it is done for the right reasons rather than as a euphemism for being invisible and not actually doing a full day’s work.

Early Career employees

For those starting out on their career, guidance and supervision is imperative, this becomes a lot more difficult at home because it takes longer for a trainee to even know where they are going wrong, let alone seeking help and guidance. Moreover, even when help is sought, it is much harder to receive help and guidance remotely than through face to face interaction. For training and observation, there is no substitute for real world interactions and learning (school teaching hasn’t stayed remote!), and for this reason working from home can be restrictive and unhelpful, slowing both the employee progression and company growth and profitability.  Ambitious individuals should be sought and employed who seriously consider whether working from home will help or delay their career development and whether, even if offered, whether WFH the right thing to do on a regular basis.

Conclusion

Overall, it seems that a hybrid approach to work that includes face to face office work and an element of WFH could be beneficial to both employees and the ability of the company to service its clients well and grow the business. Clearly the right balance of office/WFH depends on the nature of the work being done, how it is organised and delivered to customers, client expectations and the level of seniority and experience of the employees that are delivering the work.

Whether someone is in the office or working from home, the imperative thing is not their home or work location itself, but for you as an employer to have recruited employees that have the right work ethic and commitment to your business.  Staff need to be proactive and self-managing and be committed to succeeding in the work tasks given to them.  This will come from both the employer and the employees seeing and agreeing that the working arrangements that are in place are the most appropriate for the job to be undertaken, while also considering the commuting and work life balance of staff.

Maxim Recruitment is committed to finding you new employees that match and mirror the working culture you have decided to adopt at your company and we regard this as a key aspect of the recruitment and selection process alongside the core competences to do a job. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss this further.

Steve Thomas
Construction Recruitment Director, UK & Canada
Maxim Recruitment
LinkedIn

Steve is responsible for Maxim Recruitment in the UK. He is based in the Maxim head office in Leicester, Leicestershire and regularly travels to meet employers, job seekers and to attend construction industry networking events all over the UK. With over 20 years' experience in construction and property recruitment he works with a number of repeat clients and engages in search and headhunting assignments for a range of premium UK and international clients.