How remote working is resulting in greater productivity for UK workforces

COVID-19 has had a profound impact on working life, with the majority of office workers in the UK being forced to work remotely as the country deals with the effects of a national lockdown. But, while lockdown measures are starting to ease across the country, the concept of working from home looks like it is here to stay. Businesses are now seeing the value in implementing a remote working culture, with many choosing to make “work from anywhere” policies permanent.

It’s not surprising to see why. A recent survey (Cartridge People, June 2020) found that more than half of British workers found that they were more productive when working remotely under lockdown. The survey also found that, even after the lockdown measures are eased and they are allowed to return to their offices, one third of workers would choose to work home on a daily basis.

Good IT makes for a happy workforce

Just one percent of respondents said that they did not enjoy working from home, while 60 percent said they were enjoying it. This is testament to the fact that many businesses are investing in upgrading and expanding their IT and cloud computing. The pandemic as creating a long-term shift in how we work, and forward-thinking companies are realising that remote working is likely to become the new norm in many industries. Therefore, making it easier for their employees to perform common work tasks without frustration is becoming more and more crucial.

These companies are also realising that the work from home revolution is unlocking a whole new level of productivity and work-life balance among their employees, and are therefore willing to invest in the latest IT and equipment to implement effective remote working policies.

Technology combats loneliness

Before COVID-19, working from home was often associated with the negative feelings of loneliness or isolation. However, advances in technology are combatting this problem; video conferencing and meeting technology has made staying in touch with colleagues easy, and advances in cloud computing have made it easy to store and share information quickly with each other. Of those surveyed, almost 60 percent said that these types of technologies have prevented them from feelings of loneliness.

Fewer distractions thanks to engaging technology

In a pre-COVID world, working from home had a certain stigma attached to it; how many people had been worried to work from home in case their bosses thought they weren’t putting in the hours? But, now that we have all been forced to try it, companies are seeing that their workforces are actually highly engaged within this set-up, with many welcoming the freedom yet valuing the interaction and structure that a working day brings.

Of those surveyed, just 13 percent confessed that they were easily distracted – which is great news for companies that have been forced to test out mass remote working. For the majority of workers, their ability to focus could in part be due to their companies’ IT set-ups. With effective cloud solutions now the norm in many companies, the transition from office life to home working has been relatively smooth for many businesses. More efficient cloud hosting, larger amounts of storage and effective virtual meeting tools make carrying out work tasks easy in a remote environment, therefore creating greater happiness and engagement.

Don’t let internet security ruin staff productivity when working remotely

While effective technology and cloud IT solutions can help to increase productivity and job satisfaction for the remote workforce, security should also be a consideration. Without the stability of a physical office environment, it can be harder to ensure your employees’ systems are not compromised. The sudden thrust into a remote working environment has created a security challenge for many businesses – even those that are most prepared. Remote working does create increased vulnerabilities concerning security, and this can be a real risk to your employees’ productivity – not to mention compromising your organisation’s sensitive information.

A lack of firewalls and blocked IP addresses can be an unfortunate reality of working in a remote environment. There’s also the issue of phishing – which has grown exponentially since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, a recent survey by Barracuda Networks found that there had been a 600 percent increase in phishing email attempts since the end of February 2020.

In order to minimise the risks of security breaches, there are many steps your company can take. Implementing cutting edge antivirus software in a remote working environment is one of the most crucial steps, as is ensuring privacy by rolling out a company VPN. In the long term, your remote working policy should also help employees to secure their home networks, making sure their systems are up to date and creating an effective and productive home working environment through IT solutions.

In closing, if you are looking to make your remote working policy permanent, there are a number of steps you’ll need to take to ensure your systems can cope. Get in touch with us today to find out how our managed cloud servers can help you keep your staff productive.