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Productivity begins at home: why optimising remote workspaces is a business essential

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Our physical workspace has a considerable impact on our effectiveness at work. When well configured, workspaces can encourage greater productivity, wellness and creativity. Poor working conditions however, can directly contribute to declining mental health, lack of inclusion, and erosion of belonging.

But as employers all over the world were thrust into a forced, but eye-opening remote working experiment, it quickly became clear that the suitability of home working arrangements for employees varied widely. Indeed, research indicates that the proportion of home workers that don’t have a dedicated room or area for working is still 60%, just as it was prior to the onset of the pandemic.

But while many of the social, economic and geographical factors contributing to this statistic are outside of the employer’s immediate control, initiatives can be put in place to mitigate their impact and facilitate better, more productive working conditions. Digiworkz CEO Laurence Collins recently hosted an expert panel webinar on ergonomics and remote working, to discuss this very issue.

Polling carried out during the webinar suggested the feelings and priorities of business leaders around optimising remote working aren’t necessarily translating into action. One on hand, more than half of them say this optimisation is very important to future business performance, with 40% citing it as critical. But on the other hand, while many organisations feel positive that they could ensure healthy and productive remote working, a significant minority were unsure of their abilities in this area.

How important to future business performance is the ability to ensure remote working is optimised?

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How confident are you in your own organisation’s current ability to ensure remote working is healthy and productive?

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However confident business may be supporting remote working, it is absolutely critical that they all bridge the gap and equip home-workers with all the tools, equipment and support they need. COVID-19 will not be going away any time soon, and these emerging trends towards more flexible and distributed workforces will similarly be with us all in the longer-term.

The differences between good and bad remote working experiences can be significant and far-reaching, from business bottom lines through to the physical and mental health of employees. Therefore, ensuring each employee is productive, content and feels valued is a win-win for both parties at a time when trust and communication have arguably never been more important.

Take a closer look at the findings and explore expert analysis on optimising remote workspaces in the webinar, available free and in full here. Learn how employee belonging can easily be eroded, and discover the five new rules around optimising productivity.