With all that\u2019s going on in the world it\u2019s normal to feel disconnected. Disconnected from friends, from family, from colleagues. Who would have thought at 23:59 NYE 2019, the majority of the UK workforce would be working from home in the next 3 months? If we\u2019re being honest work was probably the last thing on people\u2019s minds, that and trying to avoid singing Auld Lang Syne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Collaboration has been the common element guiding us through these uncertain times both in terms of work, and socially, and as a result we are able to collaborate between offices as though it were any normal working day \u2013 albeit \u2018offices\u2019 are now people\u2019s homes but nonetheless collaboration means we can still work together as teams, no matter where we are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Collaborative technology has been around for a while and brings a huge number of benefits with it such as reducing the costs of running an office and decreasing the time employees spend getting to the office, which in turn increases business productivity. So my question is, why haven\u2019t businesses taken advantage of these benefits sooner?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I believe until recently there has been a stigma around working from home. No one can physically see what you’re doing, and there\u2019s often a stereotype of employees having their laptops switched on while watching Netflix or taking an afternoon nap. In my experience this is actually the opposite of what happens and I, personally, find my productivity improves when working from home. There’s far less distractions and users can prioritise messages and stay far more organised. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Obviously there will be exceptions to this, and working from home doesn\u2019t suit everybody, but the benefits of cost reductions, and increased business productivity seem like a no brainer to most employers. For me, the only downside is the lack of face-to-face human contact, which can be supplemented via video calling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With every atrocity or disaster, some good can emerge. With the Government (as of 23.03.2020) telling individuals to work from home where possible, everyone is finding that remote working really isn’t so bad after all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Collaboration is helping businesses to stay online and connected to colleagues, customers and partners, and my hope is that post-isolation businesses see the advantages of employee mobility and stop viewing home working as a \u2018work perk\u2019 that looks good on recruitment ads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n