__
Many UK workers are denied the opportunity to work from home, or remote working as it is known, despite the fact that extreme weather is costing companies billions a year.
As storm Doris hits our shores, research from the Centre for Economics and Business Research reveals that GDP drops by an average of £2.5 billion when temperatures drop by just one degree Celsius below average.
37% of workers say their business never allows them to work from home, 63% are never comfortable with requesting it from their supervisors. Especially if an employee has to travel through hazardous weather conditions it can damage their morale not be allowed to work from home, again damaging productivity. The work they miss in the time it takes them to get to work is also less than they can achieve at home.
Offices who allow remote working experience an outstanding 81% improvement in staff who say they are more loyal to the company as a result of this freedom being given to them. 52% say it heightens their productivity and 51% said they were less stressed as a result, the positives of this system are obvious.
British firms need to show more adaptability when it comes to weather as research has backed up a feeling that they are not well prepared when it comes to sudden adverse weather. 66% of UK SME’s reported losing revenue due to this in a separate study done by Towergate.
For advice regarding your HR department strategy, please contact HPC on this website or through our social media channels.
Link to full article on this issue via HR grapevine: https://www.hrgrapevine.com/content/article/news-2017-02-23-storm-doris-causes-travel-chaos-but-remote-working-still-a-privilege-for-some