IN a feature, Will work from home outlast virus? Ford’s move suggests yes published in March, The Associated Press detailed the actions of one of America’s corporate titans, Ford Motor Co, which told about 30,000 of its employees worldwide who have worked from home that they can continue to do so indefinitely, with flexible hours approved by their managers.

Their schedules would become a work-office hybrid — they would commute to work mainly for group meetings and projects best-suited for face-to-face interaction, the report said, while explaining that the question occupying the minds of millions of employees who have worked from home the past year is, will they still be allowed to work remotely — at least some days — once the pandemic has faded?

Ford’s announcement sent one of the clearest signals to date that the pandemic has hastened a cultural shift in Americans’ work lives by erasing any stigma around remote work and encouraging the adoption of technology that enables it, the report said. Broader evidence about the post-pandemic workplace suggests that what was long-called telecommuting will remain far more common than it was a year ago.

A report also cited by AP from the employment website Indeed said postings for jobs that mention “remote work” have more than doubled since the pandemic began. Such job postings are still increasing even while vaccinations are accelerating and the pace of new confirmed COVID cases is declining.

Locally, at each press conference to announce updates to the Disaster Risk Management (DRM) measures, Prime Minister Andrew Holness makes the familiar plea: “We are encouraging businesses to facilitate work from home if they are able to do so.” There is no strict order for private companies to comply, rather public sector organisations are the only ones with a hard work-from-home rule for all ministries, departments and agencies.

With the latest DRM measures signalling a gradual return to “normal”, many employers have slowly begun asking their employees to return to work. However, others have found that working from home works just fine for them.

Karl Williams, senior vice-president of group human resources and corporate services, Sagicor Group Jamaica, sat down with Career & Education recently to talk work from home (WFH). 

C&E: Some employers have found that their employees can be just as productive working from home as in the office. Is it likely that you’ll continue this more fluid way of working post-COVID?

KW: Definitely! The future of work is hybrid. We continually assess the roles that exist across the group and, once productivity and efficiency can be maintained under work-from-home conditions, then we definitely see this as a beneficial future state to be maintained. 

C&E: How big of a challenge is tracking employee productivity during work from home, and how have you managed this?

KW: The reality is that different roles require various levels of monitoring and management. At a high level, expected/targeted outcomes are tracked against what is actually delivered to determine productivity levels. ‘People leaders’ will have to play a strong role in this process. Through frequent communication, check-ins and the use of strategies such as one-on-one coaching sessions, the outcome of tasks assigned to individuals is continually assessed, results measured, and a change in strategy implemented, if deemed necessary. 

C&E: How do you ensure that there’s still open communication and support, and that employees are kept connected and engaged, even while working remotely?

KW: Communicating, connecting and engaging with the team is a big deal for us. One of the first things we did when our team members started work from home was to educate our people leaders on the strategies needed to effectively lead the remote worker. This was done with a view to maintain connection, productivity levels and the team member experience. To stay connected on a day-to-day basis we utilise various communication technology platforms, including converting the traditional desk phones to soft phones to provide an extra layer of accessibility.

We also recognise that outside of work, there are many variables at play in this new normal with the potential to negatively impact the mental state of our team members. As such, we have spearheaded focused initiatives aimed at promoting total health and well-being. This was already important to us pre-COVID, however, in this changing landscape the importance and our resulting approach has been magnified.