How to write the perfect work from home policy

For businesses there’s the benefit of a happy, efficient and productive workforce. Yet, it’s not without its downsides. Senior managers can struggle with tracking deliverables and output and may lack a little trust in their teams. There are also factors like social isolation, feelings of exclusion, the temptation of distraction, and worsening mental health to be faced.

To ensure hybrid working is a success, it’s imperative to introduce a strong working from home policy that can be adopted across the business. So, here’s our top tips on what to think about when writing one.

What is a work from home policy?

A work from home policy is an agreement between an employer and its employees that defines how and under what circumstances employees can work remotely. It covers details around who is eligible to work from home, what support employees can request, plus responsibilities and expectations.

What to include in a work from home policy

An effective work from home policy should be clear and easy to read, but needs to be comprehensive. It should cover:

Who is eligible to work from home

Not all functions and job roles will be suited to remote work. A work from home policy should clearly set out which employees under which circumstances can work remotely, to fairly set expectations.

Equipment requirements

Remote employees will need certain equipment to work effectively from home. A work from home policy must establish what equipment employees can request and how they can request it.

Regular working hours

A good work from home policy will balance flexibility with availability. Employees will value a degree of autonomy when it comes to setting their own working hours, but they also need to be available and responsive throughout the working day. Work from home policies commonly set core hours when remote workers are expected to be contactable.

Communication and availability standards

In addition to establishing working hours, a work from home policy should also set out expectations on how available remote employees must be and how they can be contacted.

Available and appropriate software and communication channels

A work from home policy should establish what software and communications channels are made available to remote workers, and under which situations they should be used. This could include standardised video conferencing software, instant messaging apps, and team collaboration tools like Trello, Slack, and Microsoft Teams.

IT support

Off-site employees will need timely access to IT support to ensure any IT issues don’t impede their work. A robust policy should set out what IT support is available and how to request it.

Security requirements

Remote working can expose organisations to security risks, especially if employees access work through unsecured third-party networks, like home Wi-Fi. Security concerns must be central to an all-encompassing policy. It is fundamental to clearly explain how remote employees can secure their home networks and devices, and what other security practices they should implement. It’s imperative to ensure this is adopted company wide.

Health and safety training and support

Any form of work involves health and safety concerns, including office work. Education and training should be made available to employees to ensure they set-up home working spaces in a safe and ergonomically suitable manner. Health and safety support should also include advice on monitoring and maintaining mental health.

Monitoring of employee performance

Some employees work effectively at home, but others may lose focus and find they become distracted. work from home policy should cover how employee performance is monitored. Ideally, this should involve a degree of autonomy on the employee’s part, to ensure performance monitoring is seen as fair and appropriate, and not draconian.

Work from home policy benefits

Embracing hybrid working can deliver substantial benefits for employers and employers. But to adequately support your employees, line managers and senior managers it’s crucial to implement an effective work from home policy.

Discover how Brother can help you implement remote working with our hybrid working expertise and range of hybrid working technology solutions.

^{Sources
https://timelyapp.com/blog/the-downsides-of-remote-working
https://snacknation.com/blog/work-from-home-policy/}