Working from home as a major requirement for applying

The corona period made us realize that we could move quickly and work efficiently from home. Despite all the limitations and consequences of this difficult time, we experienced working from home as something positive. In the 26-45 age group, more than half of them want the right to work from home half the time and it is even becoming a condition they name when applying for a job.

As a Labor and Health Advisor , I, Cynthia Visser, was able to experience working from home for the first time. In fact, in my previous job as a physical manual therapist, there was no opportunity for this. What are the effects when you allow or include working from home in an employment contract?

Starting immediately without traffic jams and long travel times, means less congestion on the road and CO2 emissions. As a result, time to take the children to school, which saves childcare. Working from home saves the employer mileage allowance, a win-win situation!

'Do you still have time for work?' Because there are no distractions from co-workers (which is also very sociable), you can keep working well. As a result, there is the opportunity to do some laundry and pick up the kids from school.

These are the micro-breaks used at work to get coffee and confer with a colleague. For example, as a Labor and Health Advisor , I regularly exercise when I am working from home. If necessary, I work a little longer or start a little earlier. This contributes to my overall happiness and since I am not very different from others, this will be true for many!

Fortunately, I've only heard the above phrase once when speaking with a supervisor. If you think you need to have control over a home-based employee, where is the trust? Trusting an employee to manage his/her time as efficiently as possible so that the work can be done well instills confidence and contributes to job happiness.

Recently it was in the news that the number of burn-outs has increased sharply over the past three years and especially among young people. Working from home was named among other causes. Employees have difficulty separating work and private life, do not take care of their mental health and miss their team. The advice given is that colleagues do not see each other continuously online, but also live. Make good agreements about this:

Capture dates when everyone is working in the office. Seeing each other live is different and very important for team spirit.
Alternate between online and live meetings.
Agree on days that employees work in the office, also helpful for occupying flex spaces.

Whatever the pros and cons of working from home, it has become a "requirement" for many people when they apply for a job and would also like to have it written into their contract. But why is this step necessary? As an employer or manager, when you trust your employees and give them the responsibility that however they set up the work, it will be good and deadlines will be met, it no longer matters where they work.

It works the other way around as well, when employees can show that they take responsibility that the work is good and finished and with hybrid working, work happiness is higher and work-life balance is better, what could be the objection? Increased work happiness in turn drives higher engagement, more productivity and less absenteeism. Personal leadership provides this solution and, combined with and healthy corporate culture, ensures a future-proof organization.