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Working From Home This article by Mike Hurst CPP, was published in TPSO Magazine and in Professional Security Magazine in May 2020. The WFH Survey is here
There has been much written about the current increase in home working as a result of the global Covid-19 pandemic and whilst for many companies this is not an option, for others the available technology and technically literate staff has meant that whilst it may not be ‘business as usual’, business is at least continuing. Another change has been the increase in respect and recognition our healthcare professionals have received and the degree to which this has been extended to the blue light services, frontline security personnel and the public sector who are providing invaluable services. Whilst the cynic in me fears that once we return eventually to normal lives some of these attitudes and practices will also return to pre-pandemic ways, the optimist part hopes that we may be establishing some new heuristics.
hopefully any potential welfare and psychological issues that working remotely may have caused or be causing. Many companies, I know, when also be looking at their physical estate to ascertain whether it is all needed or whether having people working remotely, means that the enterprise can reduce costs by maintaining smaller offices, utilising more hot desking and having staff working the office less frequently. This could save money, for example people will be paying less to commute (rail fares continue to rise above inflation), but costs may increase as people need to have more office As someone who speaks on a regular basis to other equipment at home in order to work effectively, security, risk and business continuity professionals, I am different insurance policies, better physical security. both interested and pleased to hear that their internal This could also mean less congested public transport, conversations have moved from the “is our BC plan up to fewer emissions, a better work life balance and the job and let’s implement it?” to the “how do we potentially, more efficient and profitable organizations. I transition out of this?” phase. Alongside these vital am not here going to address the issues regarding operational concerns, organizations are looking at hello information security, home networks, VPNs, use of how they need to adapt their strategies to consider what private emails addresses and computers, sharing files, has happened and look ahead as to how they will take encryption, physical security of employees who decide to on the challenges presented to survive and thrive. work perhaps in a local coffee shop or business centre but these and many other points do need to be Clearly, companies which usually normally have staff considered. working from offices will be reviewing their practices to see how working from home has affected business and This is not to say that there are no pitfalls in home what new practices they need to keep and what old ones working. Management will need to adapt to this new they need to return to. These reviews will no doubt climate in the way they interact with, monitor and encompass effects on productivity and effectiveness, motivate teams of people who are more used to working interaction between teams and team members and © HJA Consult Ltd—Working From Home Survey, May 2020