Business info - issue 144

Home working GOODBYE OFFICE, HELLO SHED Since lockdown, many of us will have swapped a city centre office for the garden shed. Yet, even before the COVID-19 pandemic, shed-working was a popular option for many thousands of entrepreneurs. According to research by Starling Bank, last year as many as 104,000 micro- businesses and sole traders ran their businesses solely from a garden shed (including garages and outbuildings), contributing £17 billion to the UK economy. Its study found that the average shed worker spends £3,343 on a garden workspace, but saves £8,738 a year on rent, commuting costs, food expenses and other overheads. Shed workers also enjoy a better work- life balance than office workers (76% vs. 65%) and are four times less likely to be stressed (7% vs. 28%). Almost one in five shed workers (17%) host client or customer meetings in their shed, 13% use them for staff catch-ups and one in ten (10%) uses them as a venue for new business pitches and meeting. Technology MORE SUPPORT NEEDED FOR HOMEWORKERS From the start, the coronavirus lockdown has been described as the world’s greatest experiment in home-working. So, what are some of the early results? A survey of the working habits of 3,000 office workers by managed services provider Atlas Cloud, carried out one month into lockdown, provides some interesting insights. This shows that most employees have adapted easily to working from home, with 79% of those doing so believing they can do so effectively. However, it also highlights the shortcomings of existing arrangements: n 34% of home workers say their work is being hampered by the poor performance of their home internet connection; n 25% are using a personal laptop for homeworking, with more than half of those storing work files on that personal device and 7% having no password protection (16% are working on a company laptop bought since the coronavirus pandemic); n 24% complain of having to log in to too many separate software packages and apps while working from home; n 22% can’t access the computer files they need while working from home; and n 20% say the quality of the laptop, desktop or tablet they work on from home is negatively affecting their work productivity. Given these technical, security and productivity challenges, it is not surprising that more than half of office workers (57%) believe their company should be doing more to help them work productively from home. Almost one fifth (19%) say their company needs to act urgently to enable them to work productively from home. With the possibility that home-working will be adopted more strategically after the lockdown, it is instructive that just two in five workers believe their employer has helped them make adequate provisions to work from home long-term; 38% say their employer needs to invest in longer-term solutions if they are to work from home in the future. PeteWatson, CEO of Atlas Cloud, said: “We anticipate that among the largest changes we’ll see to our working lives as a result of the coronavirus pandemic is a much larger proportion of Britain’s workforce working from home more often and a change in how British businesses manage their IT and handle business information.” BULLETIN 01732 759725 magazine 07 BULLETIN Facilities management CLEANER OFFICES As businesses prepare to open up their offices once again, FM benchmarking service Sitemark has launched a new workplace hygiene programme to combat COVID-19. Unlike traditional cleaning specifications that focus almost entirely on visual standards of cleanliness, the COVID-19Workplace Hygiene Programme is designed to identify and highlight parts of a building where the risk of contamination is high, including common areas, door handles, lifts and stairwells, and to introduce an appropriate cleaning schedule. The programme is based on the use of ‘High Intensity Touch Point’ indicators in high-risk areas to remind people to wash their hands and to prompt cleaners to implement a deep clean. The programme has three stages – categorisation of different areas in a building; determining the cleaning frequency of ‘Touch Point’ areas; and displaying Touch Point indicators where appropriate. It can be implemented with or without auditing and certification by Sitemark, which provides a full set of tools, from workplace risk assessment tools and hygiene cleaning specifications to wall-mounted guides and High intensity ‘Touch Point’ indicators. www.sitemark.co.uk The Podmakers’ Escape Pod can be used as a place to work, meditate, sleep or socialise. Made entirely from wood, it can be rotated to face in any direction and can be kitted out with heating, electrics and insulation. www.podmakers.co.uk HomeWorking TOP 10 CHALLENGES 1 Missing social interaction (27%) 2 Feeling the need to prove productivity (24%) 3 Colleagues taking longer to respond (18%) 4 Connectivity issues (17%) 5 Feeling disconnected from colleagues (16%) 6 Feeling out of sight, out of mind (16%) 7 Feeling out of the loop with what is going on across the business (15%) 8 Getting distracted even more than when in the office (15%) 9 Relying on technology too heavily (14%) 10 Feeling isolated (12%) Source: 99&One Furniture TAKING A STAND The QuickStand Eco from Humanscale transforms ordinary desks or tables into healthy, active workspaces. Available in laptop, single or dual-monitor configurations, the height adjustable solution features sustainable materials and minimal parts and pieces for a reduced environmental footprint and clean aesthetic. Its simple setup makes it an ideal ergonomic tool for home offices. www.humanscale.com Humanscale QuickStand Eco ISSUE 144