Working from home, whether fully remote or as part of a hybrid working policy, is a recognised form of lone working. Whilst home working has many benefits and means lone workers are in a comfortable and familiar environment, it still carries potential risks & challenges for you and your lone workers. Here we discuss the most common challenges your home workers may face and the steps you can take to mitigate them.
Common risks faced by home workers
The most common risks faced by home workers and hybrid workers are:
- Isolation, loneliness, stress and/or depression
- Eye strain, neck & back pain or repetitive strain injuries caused by inappropriate workstations or work environments
- Slips, trips, falls or other accidents in the home with no one there to help
- Disconnected employees who are less engaged and interested in their work and their team
- Blurred boundaries between home and work life, affecting lone workers & their family members
Don't forget, if you have home workers or hybrid workers in your organisation you must ensure that your risk assessment covers these roles. For more information about how to conduct a risk assessment for your home workers click here.
Isolation, loneliness, stress and depression
Those that don't have social contact through work can feel lonely or isolated. This can lead to feelings of stress or further exacerbate mental health issues such as depression. Your home workers may also be feeling stressed or worried about something else in their life, such as a caring responsibility. This can build up over time and without co-workers or a manager to talk to, it may feel even more difficult to cope with.
To reduce isolation & loneliness amongst your lone workers you should:
- Keep in regular contact with your home workers as a team and one to one.
- As part of this regular contact it is important to discuss workload, demands and any training or extra support required.
- Encourage your home workers to take regular breaks and use their annual leave so that they have plenty of time to rest.
- Reassure your home workers that they can contact you whenever they need to - whether that it is to discuss a specific task or project, workload demands or something else.
Physical injuries caused by inappropriate workstations
As a manager, you must protect your workers from health and safety risks when working on a computer or laptop (often referred to as display screen equipment or DSE) at home. These risks include;
- Repetitive strain injuries from using a keyboard and/or mouse
- Neck, back or shoulder aches and pains from poor posture
- Eye strain from poor lighting and/or failure to take regular breaks away from screens
To mitigate the risks posed by using computers or laptops you should carry out a DSE assessment for individual workers. For those that work from both their home and an office, an assessment should be carried out for both. As part of this you will need to consider:
- their entire workstation including furniture and equipment
- the type of work they are undertaking
- any special requirements needed (for example, for a worker with a disability)
Slips, trips & falls
Whilst a home worker's risk of a slip, trip or fall is relatively low, there is always a chance that this could happen. Hybrid workers who travel to another place of work, attend external meetings or visit sites, clients or customers are also at risk of an accident such as these. A slip, trip or fall could happen when a worker moves around or goes up and down stairs. Without anyone with them at home an incident like this is even more serious as there is no one there to help them.
To lessen the risk of a slip, trip or fall it is important to remind your home workers to keep the area they are working in free from clutter and trailing wires or cables. You could also consider investing in a lone worker solution, such as an SOS fob, to ensure your home workers could alert someone if they have fallen and need help.
Disconnected employees
Many people thrive when working from home, but for some it can leave them feeling disconnected and demotivated. This can be due to one or more of the below:
- Home workers have little to no social contact during their working day (if they live alone this may be for even longer)
- They may lack support & guidance from managers which impacts both personal and professional development
- Some home workers find that their level of responsibility and decision making increases with no one else around for support or reassurance
To avoid your home workers becoming disconnected it is vital that you:
- Have regular one to one meetings where you listen to them, communicate what is happening in their team and the wider organisation and make a plan for their personal & professional development.
- Make sure your home workers know when they can contact you and ensure they know the best way to contact you, should they need urgent advice or support.
Poor work-life balance
Home working can result in increased work intensity and working longer hours, which may cause feelings of pressure and stress. For some, it also blurs the boundaries between their home life and work life.
To ensure your home workers get a good overall work-life balance, you should;
- Help your home workers to set clear boundaries; for example when they will start & finish work and when they will take their lunch break
- Remind them not to feel obliged to reply to emails or messages outside of their working hours
- Where possible, encourage your home workers to set-up their workstation in a space they don't use very often (other than for work). This helps to separate work-life and home-life a little more.
While working from home offers numerous advantages, it is important to acknowledge and address the potential risks associated with this type of work. By understanding the challenges including isolation, physical strain, accidents, disconnection, and poor work-life balance, you can take proactive steps to mitigate these risks and support your home workers.
