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Work from home
Working from home has attracted much attention among researchers, managers, and HR
practitioners. It offers both advantages and disadvantages to employers and employees. In
addition, its effectiveness is connected to an organization's performance management strategies.
Furthermore, The phenomenon must be studied to identify its impact on organizational
productivity and the interventions that can be applied to address the challenges that undermine its
impact. Although working from home presents unique challenges, ensuring a strategic HR policy
that governs how the practice is adopted can yield positive outcomes in talent recruitment,
retention, and management.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of WFH employees? for employers?
Advantages of WFH for employees
Work-from-home arrangements have enabled employees to benefit from flexible work
arrangements. Employees have autonomy and the opportunity to determine when they start and
stop their tasks, as long as they are able to complete their assigned responsibilities within the
allocated time (Mangia, 2020). Control over their personal work plays an essential role in
enabling them to achieve positive outcomes in balancing both their personal and professional
responsibilities.
One of the most transformative benefits of remote work is the elimination of commute
time from the daily schedules of employees. According to Courtney (n. d), the average one-way
commuting time is 27.1 minutes, translating to an hour that is spent on the road daily. This
results in commuters spending about 100 hours in their commute, with 41 hours of those being
stuck in traffic (Courtney, n. d). Some commuters spend up to 90 minutes or more each trip,
which results in a lot of time being lost in unproductive endeavors (Courtney, n. d). This is a
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significant problem as it is associated with increased levels of stress and anxiety. Furthermore,
employees who commute for more than 10 miles daily for work experience increased risk of
depression, high blood sugar levels and cholesterol (Courtney, n. d). As such, removing the
commute contributes towards better physical and mental health for the employees. Moreover, the
time saved from the commute can provide an opportunity for the employees to focus on other
priorities outside their professional responsibilities. For example, they can be able to spend more
time sleeping, with their family and having a healthier lifestyle. The time saved from the
commute can be allocated to continuous learning, exercise, rest or spending time with family
members. This makes it an attractive proposition for professionals who are starting families or
raising their children. As such, this can be a source of competitive advantage in the job market as
employees can be urged to embrace the practice.
The location independence that is associated with telecommuting frees employees to
access a broader range of career opportunities. For instance, employees are able to pursue
meaningful careers while operating as digital nomads (Choudhury, 2020). Additionally, the
people who have to relocate frequently, such as the spouses of military professionals can pursue
professional opportunities without disruption. It can also help employees to avoid high housing
costs that can enable them to experience more financial freedom. Working from home frees
people to pursue their profession without being tied to living in metropolitan areas.
In her article, Courtney (n. d) reported that employees who work from home can generate
about $ 4, 000 in savings annually. This savings can accrue from a reduction in the usage of gas,
car, and maintenance fees. In addition, they do not have to spend a lot of money on lunch.
Furthermore, employees are able to enjoy a comfortable work environment due to the ability to
customize their office. The reduced interruptions, office politics and noise can enhance employee
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productivity and organizational performance. Remote work can allow employees to focus on
what works best for them. Moreover, employees who work remotely are more likely to be more
loyal and satisfied with their work. The reduction in the interruptions and politics that
characterize the office environment can strengthen employee relationships. In the article,
Courtney (n. d), reported that 72% of employers stated that working from home can improve
employee retention. In this regard, offering work from home opportunities can play an essential
role in enhancing the competitive advantage of companies in the labor market.
Employees can benefit from working from home by taking advantage of the increased
flexibility to engage in physical activity. In addition, they can eat healthier and ensure they have
less exposure to illness. Furthermore, it affords them more opportunities to recover from illness
and care for their loved ones. Additionally, employees have the power to create a comfortable
and ergonomic workspace when they work from home.
The higher autonomy enjoyed by employees can enable them to become more
productive. Additionally, they are likely to benefit from having fewer interruptions when they are
engaged in their work. The employees can also customize their work set ups to fit their needs and
interests (Michael & Smith, 2015). This can be beneficial for disabled employees who would
benefit from the development of a work environment that is responsive to their situation.
Furthermore, virtual work provides opportunities for employees to become digital
natives. The utilization of technologies plays an essential role in enabling them to achieve their
goals. Additionally, it provides an opportunity for employees to develop digital literacy which
can be essential in continuous learning and professional development. Ensuring that
organizations are able to cultivate the right skills will play a key role in positioning them to
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achieve positive outcomes. The possibility of working remotely can be an attractive proposition
for young people who want to have a flexible lifestyle that affords them the opportunity to travel.
Disadvantages of WFH for employees
Working from home may cause some employees to suffer from a sense of isolation as
they are not able to interact with their coworkers and colleagues. The reduction in social
interaction and activities can undermine the mental health and well-being of some employees
(Galanti et.al, 2020). Additionally, other distractions may emerge which undermine the
productivity of the affected employees. For example, interruptions from children, pets, friends
and neighbors can undermine the ability of an employee to concentrate on what they need to do.
As such, the employees need to clarify that they have professional engagements and should not
be interrupted.
One of the most underrecognized disadvantages of working from home is the fact that it
results in a situation in which a person is perpetually at work. Being in a situation where work
does not end can cause employees to feel stressed, anxious and demotivated. Besides intruding
their personal and social lives, it can result in a violation of the rights of employees.
Working from home can be a challenging endeavor that undermines employee
productivity. For example, some employees may have difficulty working without direct
supervision. The ability to walk and do other activities can also have an adverse effect on the
concentration of the affected employees.
The employees who prefer being part of a community and engaging in team work may
find this arrangement disconcerting for them. The lack of direct interaction can undermine
communication capabilities and cause poor team performance. While teleconferencing tools such
as Zoom and collaboration platforms such as Slack have provided effective resources for virtual
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teams to work together, they are not as effective as sitting in the same room and brainstorming
together. The over-scheduling of meetings which is prompted by the difficulties in
communicating together can cause frustration among the employees.
Employers may suffer from a deterioration in the development of tribal knowledge.
Typically, organizations develop norms and unspoken rules of behavior that can be difficult to
understand when employees work from home. The best way to learn some of this information is
through trial and error, and observation. In a remote work setting, its possible for some
employees to hoard this knowledge as a means of accruing power. Moreover, a lack of
documentation could inhibit organizational learning in ways that undermine the development of
institutional competence.
Conflict between employees may go unaddressed for much longer than it should due to
the lack of opportunities to resolve them quickly. The lack of data and body language could
cause hatred among employees. Moreover, some employees may not know when they cause a
conflict and thus would be unable to take steps to resolve it. This could undermine team cohesion
and expose an organization to poor performance in the long-term.
Inefficient information flow could also introduce many challenges in the organization. In
a remote work setting, some employees may not know what is happening due to the challenges
in information sharing. In particular, a person may fail to know what is happening in another
team, an outcome that undermines collaboration across departments. Moreover, the inability to
have face to face interactions could cause anxiety among some employees who could feel left out
when they are not part of decision-making loops. This can be a significant issue for employees
who are at the middle of their careers and thus keen on being involved in projects and activities
that expand their skills and prepare them for bigger roles.
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In this regard, there is a need for organizations to ensure they develop the right type of
competencies that will enable them to succeed in working from home. This could involve
ensuring that employees are able to adopt the right practices that address some of the identified
challenges. For example, employers can collaborate with consultants to train their employees on
effective work from home practices.
Advantages of WFH for employers
Remote work plays an essential enabling companies to achieve their diversity and
inclusion goals by empowering them to hire people from different cultural, geographic, and
social-economic backgrounds. It also enables them to support local communities and the families
of their professionals. This can be integral in enabling them to reduce employee turnover among
employees who are in the middle of their careers.
Employers who embrace working from home arrangements benefit from long-
term savings due to a reduction in operational expenses. For example, a typical company can
generate $11,000 savings per employee annually (Courtney, n. d). Flexjobs, the company on
which this article appeared, reportedly saved$ 5,000,000 annually from remote work due to a
reduction in the continuity of operations, overhead, real estate expenses and transit subsidies.
According to Courtney (n. d), employers saved about $ 30 billion annually due to the reduction
in operating expenses caused by remote work.
Furthermore, the 3,900,000 employees who worked from home during the pandemic
resulted in 600,000 cars being removed from the road (Courtney, n. d). Those who work from
home contribute to a 7.8 billion vehicle miles that are not part of the pollution caused by the
transportation sector. In addition, oil savings of $ 980 million and 3 million tons of greenhouse
emissions are experienced (Courtney, n. d). Additionally, remote work can improve the
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sustainability initiatives in communities. Reducing commuter travel has emerged as one of the
most effective means of reducing the carbon footprint associated with human transportation.
Since working from home is dependent on technology, it forces organizations to adapt
and grow their strategies in a digital-first environment. This can play a key role in cultivating an
innovation mindset among employees. Moreover, this practice can attract talent that an
organization would not be able to reach otherwise. For example, it can onboard mothers who
would have otherwise been unwilling to come to the office. It is also giving employees more
flexibility in the job market as they can access talent from different parts of the world.
Embracing working from home arrangements can enable employers to benefit from a
reduction in operating expenses. For example, employers do not have to spend a lot of resources
on office equipment. In addition, they can lease less office space and use less stationary. Patanjali
and Bhatta (2022) reported that the adoption of remote work can play an essential role in
improving organizational productivity by reducing overheads while enabling employees to
enhance their productivity. The shift from office environments to remote work can reduce the
tension caused by office politics and improve interpersonal relationships as there will be less
conflict among employees. It also reduces the formation of cliques in the work environment that
are often the cause of conflicts among employees.
Remote work arrangements have expanded the pool of talent from which employers can
recruit. Viktorovich et.al (2020) observed that the practice can enable more employers to have
disabled staff. This is because they can hire employees who would have otherwise not been able
to come to the office. This can play a key role in enabling companies to diversify their talent
while broadening access to working from home opportunities.
Disadvantages of WFH for employers
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Employers may experience difficulties identifying how they can monitor and improve the
performance of their employees. This can be a particularly challenging endeavor if the role
requires a lot of background responsibilities. In addition, it can take some employees a lot of
time before they are able to resolve issues that could be disruptive on the productivity of their
colleagues. Schawbel (2018) noted that employees who work from home are disengaged and
likely to quit. The observation demonstrates the need for employers to recognize the fact that not
all employees would thrive in a remote work arrangement. As such, they should involve
employees when making the decision on the adoption of remote work arrangements.
Working from home introduces new risks and challenges to employers due to the
utilization of less secure networks. Moreover, having employees access secured databases and
systems from their homes can create immense challenges that undermine the integrity of
organizational data. Employers must comply with relevant regulations and laws in all the
markets where it sources employees from, increasing compliance costs (Pyöriä, 2011). Moreover,
it could increase the risk of unauthorized access as employees rely on public WIFI and other
unsecured networks.
Furthermore, there is a risk that working from home can result in employers lacking
insight into the productivity of their employees. This arrangement can have an adverse effect on
the performance of employees who respond effectively when they are closely supervised.
Additionally, its essential that employees are engaged in an enabling environment that allows
them to achieve positive outcomes. As such, those who benefit from collaborating with their
colleagues are able to achieve desirable outcomes.
Working from home can expose employees to many distractions that would have an
adverse effect on their performance. This could have an adverse effect for employees whose
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roles require a lot of concentration. Moreover, there is a risk of some employees being negatively
affected by the lack of camaraderie that characterizes office work. In addition, this arrangement
introduces the challenge of finding the right talent who thrive in it. While many employees
would love the flexibility associated with working from home, there are others who would find it
difficult.
Some employers may face challenges in building the organizational culture which they
want. In addition, there may be difficulties in building teams as employees may lack the
opportunity to develop the interpersonal skills that will enable them to succeed. Moreover, its
possible that some employees could face difficulties in developing the trust and confidence in
their peers that is vital to their success. Communication gaps due to the inability to share
information effectively can have an adverse effect on the productivity of organizations.
Employers may face many challenges in onboarding new employees. Moreover,
employees who respond positively to opportunities to develop relationships with their colleagues
may be discouraged from joining organizations that do not meet this need. In many instances, the
ability to develop relationships with others in a work environment can be a key factor for
attracting employees in a work environment. As such, losing this value proposition could
undermine the attractiveness of some organizations for job candidates.
Employees may be discouraged by the decreased visibility associated with working from
home. Many employees want the opportunity to make an impact in their industries and
organizations. The lack of face time with managers and other decision-makers may cause a sense
of isolation among some employees. There is a risk that some employees would feel that
working from home would undermine both their personal and professional development.
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Employers may face challenges in resolving challenges in their operations when their
staff is working remotely. This can undermine crisis management efforts while introducing new
risks in the business environment. Moreover, when employees work in different time zones, there
can be communication gaps that would undermine the performance of the organization. There
are some employees who may not thrive in this environment, especially junior employees who
need to learn by observing others and those who excel in environments where they are given the
opportunity to partner with others. Al-Habaibeh et.al (2021) reported that remote working relies
on the availability of the right resources and an enabling environment for employees to succeed.
Additionally, its vital to ensure that the right kind of employees are given these assignments
because it requires autonomy, knowledge and a high level of competence.
Having employees work remotely could expose the data and information of employers to
unauthorized access. It will have to rely on the professionalism of employees and their ability to
use secure networks. Moreover, some employees who do not have integrity may exploit remote
working opportunities to pursue other interests. However, this can be overcome by using tracking
software to monitor the activities of employees.
Are employees productive when working remotely?
The effect of working remoting on employee productivity has attracted a lot of attention
among stakeholders who are keen to understand its implications on organizational behavior and
performance. According to Glaeser and Cutler (2021), working from home would inhibit
innovation and productivity among employees because of the lack of serendipitous exchanges
that are an essential component of creating new products, services and processes. In their view,
while the practice results in a short-term improvement in employee productivity, this effect is
temporary and does not consistent outcomes in the medium to long-term. Their research
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suggested that in the long-term, the effects would be serious and undesirable. This can be
connected to a reduction in innovation and difficulties in working as a team. Their concerns with
the negative impact of working from home was exacerbated by the fact that most organizations
in the contemporary society rely on the deployment of knowledge and creativity, which are both
triggered most effectively when people are in the same room.
In contrast, Molla (2022) reported that while many organizations experienced a decline in
organizational productivity when they first switched to working from home, in the long-run, their
long-term performance was positive. Many organizations suffered from a lack of the requisite
management systems, meetings structures, flawed workflows, and inadequate equipment that
was necessary to ensure that their operations were effective. However, as organizations adapted
to the requirements of working from home, they started yielding the benefits. The positive
outcomes experienced from working from home are persuading some managers to continue
relying on either fully working from home or a hybrid arrangement that gives employees this
flexibility. Many organizations have benefited from the working from home arrangement which
has exposed them to opportunities to improve their productivity.
Similarly, Bloom et.al, (2015), in their study established that working from home results
in an improvement in organizational productivity. Besides reducing operational expenses, it
enables employees to choose the style and approach that is most appropriate for them. In
essence, a growing body of knowledge supports the impact of remote work on organizational
productivity.
There is a risk of working from home resulting in the demotivation of some employees.
This could result in poor performance among employees that would have a negative effect on
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organizational productivity. In addition, it reduces opportunities for peer coaching and
mentorship which could have an adverse impact on the performance of organizations.
According to Apollo Technical (2022), employees who work from home spend 10
minutes daily being unproductive than they were at the office while 47% of them are more
productive. This is because they are more consistent, work more hours and are able to get more
done. A study by Stanford comprising of 16,000 workers over nine months established that
employees increase their individual productivity (Apollo Technical, 2022). On the whole, it is
evident that remote work can enhance the productivity of organizations in ways that make a
meaningful difference. In the post-COVID era, it would appear that some employers intend to
continue with this arrangement because of the benefits.
The debate on the effectiveness of remote work in improving organizational productivity
demonstrates that it could be a subjective issue, with the organizational culture and type of
employees having a more consequential impact. For example, employees who are self-driven are
likely to thrive in remote work assignments. In contrast, those who require close supervision and
direction would face challenges in this arrangement. Additionally, the organizations that rely on
remote work could face immense challenges in ensuring that their people adjust to this approach.
In this regard, the change management efforts adopted by the organization will have a
consequential impact on the outcomes of these endeavors.
How can organizations create employee loyalty when employees work in a
remote environment?
Effective communication can play an essential role in enabling organizations to improve
employee loyalty. This involves communicating the benefits of this arrangement and ensuring
there are standard operating procedures that streamline the operations of an organization. Wang
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et.al (2021) observed that work design has a consequential impact on the engagement of
employees in a remote work setting. Its vital that organizations ensure they have the right tools
which can be used to ensure that their staff can achieve their goals.
In instances that organizations adopt a hybrid model, they mustn't discriminate against
those who opt to work from home. Instead, there should be mechanisms that are designed to
ensure that the practice advances the goals of an organization. Additionally, its essential that
employers demonstrate good faith in managing remote work.
Moreover, its essential to encourage health and wellness among employees. This is
integral in ensuring that employees feel appreciated and taken care of. Moreover, its good to host
virtual meetings and casual hangouts to cultivate a sense of camaraderie. Furthermore, employers
should ensure that their employees feel appreciated and heard. This could involve encouraging
them to communicate with their team leaders when an issue arises. A failure to address emerging
challenges can have a negative impact on the performance of an organization.
Employers should foster personal connections among their employees. This can play an
essential role in enabling them to develop camaraderie. This is particularly integral in cultivating
employee loyalty among new employees. Keeping communication lines open can also play a key
role in improving the satisfaction and engagement of employees (Wu & Chen, 2020). In turn,
they will be loyal to the organization because they will feel appreciated and valued. Their
involvement in decision-making processes on issues that affect their work will also enable them
to take ownership of the decisions.
Employees need friends at their work place because their work is an integral component
of their identity. This demonstrates the need for having forums and chat rooms where employees
can share information with each other. It is also important that employers ensure that working
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from home does not undermine their career progression and promotions. When employees know
that they will be solely judged on their competence and performance, they are likely to
experience the psychological safety that is integral in enabling them to achieve their goals.
Building a result-oriented organizational culture can play a key role in enabling
organizations to achieve their goals. The practice will ensure that everyone within the
organization understands what they are expected to do. In addition, it can enable employers to
recruit talented persons who are keen on contributing towards the achievement of desirable
outcomes. Creating a shared sense of purpose can ensure that employees feel engaged and
committed to their work even when they work remotely.
Employers must be deliberate about encouraging their employees to embrace work life
balance. The approach involves being deliberate about encouraging employees to take time off.
Al-Rfou (2021) noted that successful work from home efforts require collaboration between
employers, employees and their family members to ensure they have an enabling environment to
fulfil their roles. Moreover, employees should be matched with the roles that are suited to their
unique abilities, strengths and interests. This will play a key role in motivating them and ensuring
they stay with the organization for a long period.
Creating employee loyalty in a remote work set up requires the elimination of stressors
from the work experience. For example, employees should be involved in identifying the optimal
strategies for sharing updates and collaborating with each other. Moreover, its essential that
employees are actively involved in shaping their work experiences. This can play a key role in
ensuring the employees take ownership of the changes that are made within their organizations.
What is the best compensation and performance management model for
remote workers?
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Identifying the appropriate compensation and performance management model for
organizations who adopt remote work will have a consequential impact on their performance.
Strategic compensation enables organizations to attract, retain and motivate their staff (Leitao,
Silva & Ubeda, 2016). In this regard, its vital for organizations to identify the aspects that they
should consider and how they can ensure they meet the needs of their staff.
The appropriate compensation strategy should ensure that employees e rewarded for their
role in enabling the organization to achieve its objectives. Moreover, its essential that employees
have incentives for when they perform well. Ensuring that employees are rewarded effectively
can play a key role in motivating them and enabling them to achieve positive outcomes.
Encouraging peer learning and reviews can also play a key role in motivating the employees by
ensuring they learn from their colleagues. This will address an important cause of the resistance
against working from home trends-the fear that it can undermine the professional development of
a person. Ensuring that employees can engage in continuous learning even as they work remotely
will ensure that they are prepared to perform both current and future roles.
Single market compensation is regarded as the most effective means of determining the
salary of employees working from home. Shaikh (2022) stated that this involves setting a
standard pay scale for all employees that is not tied to where they live. Typically, this
compensation approach is based on where the headquarters of an organization are situated. The
advantages of this approach is that it avoids discrepancies among employees and is one of the
simplistic approaches to managing employees. Additionally, it provides an effective short-term
approach when hiring employees for the first time.
However, it is difficult to set a singular compensation rate for organizations that operate
across different locations. Furthermore, it can cause many challenges when an organization
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attempts to switch to another compensation strategy in the future. The practice can be expensive
in instances when the headquarters is located in an expensive market with high living costs.
Some organizations prefer zone compensation which involves compensating staff based
on their geographical location. The practice can reduce operational expenses and can play an
essential role in enabling employers to target the talent they want. Moreover, it can be more
equitable for employees from diverse locations by responding to the realities of the areas where
they live.
The lack of precision associated with this compensation approach could result in some
employees being under or over compensated. Moreover, it requires a lot of adjustment to ensure
that it accounts for changes in average living expenses. Moreover, it requires ongoing monitoring
and revision, which could increase the cost of Human Resource management.
Local market compensation seeks to reward employees based on what is fair in their area.
Although its similar to zone compensation, it treats each zone like a local market. The benefit of
this data-driven approach is that it is precise and is regarded as the fairest for workers. It can also
be effective in preventing employees from overspending on compensation. It can be difficult to
administer for large companies that are in the process of expansion. It can also increase the HR
costs due to the research required to have the right data. Moreover, it may cause some companies
to miss recruitment opportunities due to the complexity involved.
In order to attract and retain employees, its essential for organizations to understand the
different factors that determine the appropriate compensation strategy for them. For example, its
essential to consider the type of industry within which they operate. Each industry has unique
compensation practices that must be taken into account to avoid losing talent to competitors. The
size and type of an organization can also play an essential role in determining the compensation
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strategy that is adopted by organizations. For example, a startup would not have the same
resource as an established company. As such, their compensation strategies must take into
account the realities of each organization.
The location of workers is also an important factor when determining the right
compensation strategy. It's also essential to consider the rules and regulations in the areas where
employees work. For example, its essential to take into account the minimum wages, holidays,
sick and parental leave that is associated with each role. Moreover, the experience, skills, and
preferences of employees is an important consideration that must be taken into account.
Strategic compensation requires a proactive effort among employees aimed at
encouraging the right people to apply for roles. In addition, the recruitment materials should
provide all the necessary information that would enable employees to make informed decisions
about being a part of an organization. This involves informing them the compensation approach
used by an organization and the appropriate strategy that should be used by an organization.
Organizations should adopt creative strategies to ensure they have compensation
packages that are aligned to the realities and preferences of their employees. Since working from
home is not always advantageous to every professional, it's essential to customize compensation
strategies to meet their needs. Furthermore, organizations should develop compensation
packages that provide their employees with dignity.
Employers should set and communicate the expectations they hold for their employees.
This will enable them to have clearly defined goals that they should aim to achieve. Furthermore,
adopting a frequent feedback model can play a key role in ensuring those employees who work
from home have a sense of purpose and they do not feel isolated. Employees need helpful, and
actionable feedback which they can apply to optimize their performance.
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Managers should be trained to have meaningful conversations with their employees. They
should be able to have productive engagements with their employees without appearing to be
micro-managing them. This requires recruiting employees who can perform their roles with
minimal supervision; For example, managers should be able to ask leading questions that enable
them to identify flaws in the processes or habits that undermine the performance of
organizations. Managers should be able to function as performance managers who empower their
staff to achieve their potential.
Adopting an outcome-based performance appraisal can play a consequential role in
ensuring that there is emphasis on output. Using objectives and key results ensures that results
are actionable, concrete and indicative of the progress that is made by the employees. Moreover,
its crucial to schedule performance reviews quarterly to ensure employees are able to track their
performance and implement effective interventions in a timely manner.
Employers should encourage healthy boundaries between their work and personal lives.
For example, Pechan (2021) reported that 44% of the employees who work from home log in to
systems earlier and stay on past the clocking out times in an effort to demonstrate their
productivity. In the long run, this can result in burnout among the employees. Developing a
deliberate working from home strategy can play an essential role in ensuring employees achieve
positive outcomes. Moreover, effective remote performance management clarifies the priorities
of organizations and helps them to manage their work effectively.
The balanced scorecard is an effective performance management framework that adopts a
holistic approach in evaluating the performance of employees. The approach involves examining
both the individual performance of an employee and their contribution towards the realization of
shared goals. The practice is integral in ensuring that all the factors that determine individual
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performance are addressed. The success of organizations in the contemporary society is
dependent on their ability to manage employee performance in such a way that they not only
motivate them, but also contribute towards their professional development. This requires the
adoption of strategic HR management practices which can play a key role in positioning an
organization to succeed.
The balanced scorecard involves the measurement of four important components of a
business. According to Alvarez et.al (2019), besides evaluating the learning and growth that
occurs in the organization, it also addresses the customers, finance, and business processes. This
makes it the right model to measure the impact of working from home because it ensures that the
organization is not only focusing on its prevailing performance, but also its future ones. The
long-term success of an organization depends on the learning and growth that occurs in its
employees. As such, there is a need to ensure that appropriate efforts go into contributing
towards the positive evolution of an organization.
Employers can track the activities of their employees on email and other platforms.
Moreover, they can implement time tracking software to monitor and evaluate the engagement of
employees on the work systems. Additionally, they can create task lists and task management
applications to manage the work of employees. They can also observe subjective factors and
evaluate the managerial reports which they access. Employers should encourage self-reporting
by their employees because this can play a key role in empowering them to take an active role in
promoting their performance.
Conclusion
In sum, working from home is an important phenomenon that is transforming how
organizations organize their workforce. Adopting a strategic and intentional approach can play a
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key role in enabling organizations to mitigate against the disadvantages of remote work while
harnessing its benefits. Moreover, its essential for the organizations to adopt the balanced score
card in evaluating employee performance and single market compensation. Furthermore, its vital
that employees and their managers are trained on how to manage work from home endeavors. A
failure to address the risks associated with remote work can have an adverse effect on
organizational performance by undermining information flows and collaboration. There is also
the risk of some organizations being negatively affected by losing employees who do not prefer
remote work or are unable to thrive in such settings. The successful adoption of remote work
during the COVID-19 pandemic has persuaded some employers to adopt a hybrid model that
allows employees to work remotely and come to the office on some days. Moreover, some
employers have chosen to go the extra mile and adopt fully remote roles. This requires the
adoption of appropriate performance management and compensation structures that will ensure
the shift does not undermine organizational performance. However, its essential for employers to
appreciate that the most sustainable approach for improving employee motivation is engaging
them and involving them in decision-making processes, and not just offering them opportunities
to work remotely. As such, the adoption of working from home should be coupled with other
strategies aimed at creating an employee-centered organizational culture.
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