Due to outbreak earlier last year of COVID19 there has been a huge call for staff to work remotely where possible and over recent months most companies who can, have adopted and embraced the challenge of their staff working from home and as a result have seen some real benefits.

The ‘new normal’ in this ever-changing world of business has shown many companies the benefits of staff working from home, not only is there a benefit to the company there is also the added benefit to its employees.

A lot of us have realised that working from home, although not ideal for every individual, can offer a better work-life balance for many with increased productivity and less stress.

A further benefit is that as a company that takes our environmental impact seriously it also has a further positive effect with less transport and commuting needed.

Remote working is something we are used to at AT&F and nearly all of our colleagues login remotely each and every day. With a truly global team embracing differences in times zones and preferred working hours can pay dividends.

The internet has also made it easier and more accessible for staff to be continually connected to the office.

Communication tools such as Microsoft Teams, or Zoom have made communication between colleagues much easier and at times can lead to more efficient and effective meetings, especially where previously staff may have been called in from several regional areas.

For us we can say proudly that it is not the new-norm.

We know however that working from home does require a certain amount of self-discipline - having a planned approach and setting up a dedicated home office environment helps focus the mind for the daily tasks ahead.

In order to keep staff connected with their management team AT&F Solutions created a ‘Tips For Homeworkers’ eLearning module that compliments our staff health and safety training courses.

The training module offers various tips covering everything from personal wellbeing to key health & safety issues within the home such as DSE and correct setting up of a personal workstation.

The staff training module also includes a customised interactive ‘risk assessment’ that allows managers to quickly identify any issues raised by team members to quickly resolve them.

Put simply it provides an online homeworker audit via our free to use cloud platform ClickHSE, with instant feedback to the management team so that issues can be addressed as quickly as possible.

Some of the key benefits we identify in our homeworking training module are as follows…

Advantages of employees working from home

With increasing numbers of employees working at home - or using home as a working base for at least part of the week - it's clear there are a number of benefits for business, such as

Flexibility and agility

Home working enables more agility and flexibility in working arrangements. With employees no longer tied to an office, they may be better placed and more willing to work flexible hours such as earlier or later in the day or even at weekends.

This may help improve business support and service if you are trading with customers residing in a different time zone.

Home working can also help retain employees as the flexibility of home working can help them meet childcare needs, reduce their commute and enable them to fit their work around their personal life.

Increased productivity

Due to fewer interruptions, which would normally occur in an office environment. By contrast, working from home allows for a quieter environment that can facilitate more focused work.

You may also find that employees will work longer hours as they can also use their time saved from commuting to start work earlier.

Improvements to staff health and wellbeing

Working from home eliminates the need for a commute to work that can be stressful start to the day! Extra time savings such as this also enables staff to get extra health benefits such as additional sleep, especially for those staff who have to commute more than one or two hours daily.

Company financial benefits

Savings on office space, office supplies, utility bills and other facilities.

Better work and life balance

Working from home can help employees improve their work-life balance eg staff that would have had to commute will now be able to use that time for themselves giving the basis for a better work-life balance.

In order to keep your staff connected with their management team AT&F Solutions have created a ‘Tips For Homeworkers’ training module that is coupled with an interactive risk assessment.

Both engaging and helpful for staff now working from home this training module draws upon our experience in remote working matched with eLearning content design and is available via our ClickHSE safety learning management system for both existing and new customers alike.

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