How is your workplace managing current WFH and IT related risks?

During the initial stages of COVID-19, employers struggled with the new territory of an enforced WFH workforce and an increased reliance on IT.  Then workplaces gradually adjusted and improvements were genuinely made.  Now as we hopefully near the tail end of COVID-19 it appears, according to a recent University of South Australia study, that workplaces still have some further work to do as the full effects of WFH and IT on work-life conflict, employee mental and physical wellbeing, and work engagement become better identified.  Whilst some employees have thrived during the new arrangements, others have either continually failed to adjust or now have become ‘fatigued’ by the changes as the ‘novelty’ of the new arrangements wears off.

Managing your WFH and IT risks is a workplace hazard that needs an endemic solution but there are some generic practices that organisations seeking to achieve best practice results use:

1. regular One on One catch ups (at least weekly or fortnightly) – not just to check on operational matters but to maintain relationships and genuine connection;

2. contemporary IT resources and training on how to use them – so employees don’t have to work through the hassle of slower than reasonable data, size limits, or outdated systems that require them to continue to act as if they are still in the office with all of its usual supports;

3. genuine consultation, coordination and cooperation – no one has got this perfect.  Both employees and employers need to understand that nothing is ‘set in stone’ and that reasonable adjustments will continue to be made; and

4. monitoring for hazards even when no issues are raised and acting decisively when they are – vigilance is important. Ignorance will be no excuse.  All workplaces can expect a higher focus on psychosocial hazards not just out of these areas

Edge Legal

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