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WORKING FROM HOME by Jessica Mudditt
Home truths of
remote working We’re in the midst of a work-from-home revolution, with employees expected to retain flexible work practices long after the COVID-19 health threat subsides. But the mass shift to remote working has revealed new risks for the insurance industry.
T
he COVID-19 pandemic saw millions of formerly office-bound workers take up remote working in an incredibly short space of time. While some companies in the Asia Pacific are now beginning to cautiously welcome their employees back to the office — if only on a staggered basis — many have decided to embrace a more flexible style of working regardless of whether the public health situation demands it. The benefits of a remote workforce took Steadfast Group’s chief executive officer Robert Kelly completely by surprise. What started out as an emergency response to a grave public health threat became an invaluable workplace experiment. ‘Even before the government issued advice for everyone to work from home [in March], it sounded like Armageddon was about to break out,’ says Kelly. ‘I was worried about our people getting infected on public transport, so we made the decision to have everyone working from home before it became official advice.’
JOURNAL // ISSUE 03 2020 // ANZIIF.COM
IN SHORT › COVID-19 has brought
about a huge shift in the numbers of people working from home. For those who continue this practice on an ongoing basis, it will likely require some adjustments to employment contracts to factor in responsibility for certain risks.
› Insurers that step up to the demand for policies that can accommodate the new risk profile will stand out among the competition — and they have a lot to lose if they fail to be proactive in correctly calculating the risks.
› Post-pandemic, many
businesses may choose a hybrid system, with employees working from both home and office or even using a hired space for certain meetings.
