Managing wellbeing in a virtual world

There is no doubt that the unprecedented circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic have presented the higher education sector with many varied challenges as well as revolutionising the way we all work and live, write Diane Gilhooley and Rob Gray, Partners at Eversheds Sutherland. One of the biggest changes we have seen in the way we do our work has been a widespread shift to remote working, with the advantages and disadvantages that brings.

For some workers in the sector, remote working has been a new experience – and one which has taken some getting used to. However, even for those who have experience of working remotely, the extent to which it has been embraced by employers in recent months, both within and beyond the HE sector, has been unprecedented. This is unlikely to be a short-term phenomenon. According to a recent survey of HEIs^[1], 91% of respondents said that the increased use of virtual learning would be a long-term impact for institutions and their workforces. This, in turn, is likely to mean longer-term changes to working models, with more remote and home working.

Homeworking and the wellbeing challenge

During the initial response to the Covid-19 outbreak, much of the focus for institutions was on ensuring that their IT systems could cope with this new working model, that the standard of education provision could be maintained and that data protection and privacy issues could be managed effectively.  As, however, it becomes clear that the need for some form of remote working is likely to continue, the issue of how to manage staff wellbeing is increasingly being recognised as a key consideration.

Some staff may adapt to working from home better than others, some may have a better working environment than others, but all will to varying degrees experience additional challenges which may impact upon their wellbeing.  This may include one or more of the following: a lack of adequate IT infrastructure or office equipment; the distraction of having a young family at home (or other caring responsibilities); cramped, noisy and/or shared workspaces; a blurring of work/life boundaries; a sense of isolation; the absence of day-to-day personal interactions of university life; a perceived lack of management support or supervision; and, fear and uncertainty caused by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic in relation to both their and their loved-ones’ physical well-being and, in some cases, the economic impact of the virus. All of these factors have the potential to impact on staff wellbeing.

Add to this the lack of visibility that managers and human resources teams will often encounter when seeking to manage remote workers, and the fact that many of those with responsibility for ensuring staff welfare will face many of the same difficulties arising from their own homeworking arrangements, and it is easy to see the challenges this issue presents for institutions.

Legal and practical considerations

So what is the legal position? Employers are under a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all their workers. This applies whether work is undertaken from home or onsite and includes providing a safe system of work. The latest ACAS guidance on working from home states that during the coronavirus pandemic, it is very unlikely that employers will be able to carry out the usual health and safety risk assessments at an employee's home. However, it is important that institutions check that those working from home, for all or part of the time, feel that they are able to work safely and that they have the necessary equipment to enable them to do so. This may in turn create a need for greater training and development, as staff adapt to using new technologies, and a reappraisal of how staff training is most effectively delivered.

The physical layout of the home environment is, however, only one part of ensuring a safe system of work. The area which is most likely to be impacted by remote working is that of mental health. Whilst evidence suggests that home working gives rise to improved work-life balance and increases job satisfaction and productivity, this has primarily involved studies of individuals who have chosen to work at home and the proportion of the time they spend doing that. The situation is likely to be different where the individual has had no choice in the matter and where their working from home has also coincided with other restrictions that have been imposed by the pandemic on their (and their family’s) normal day to day life.

It is therefore no surprise that the Health and Safety Executive’s advice on working safely during covid-19 is that home working can cause work-related stress and affect people’s mental health, that being away from managers and colleagues could make it difficult to get proper support and that employers should put procedures in place so they can keep in direct contact with home workers to recognise signs of stress as early as possible. HR should therefore support managers in how best to keep in touch with their staff, whether that be by virtual team/1:1 meetings, email exchanges, telephone calls or a combination of all three. Managers should also be encouraged to ensure staff continue to receive the same level of support and recognition they would have received had they been in the workplace.

The law has long recognised the importance of time away from work for employee health, and many employers recognise the benefits of an appropriate work-life balance for their workforces. However, remote working has the ability to blur the lines between work and home life, with the added difficultly of ‘switching off’ when working from home.  If this were to result in staff working consistently longer days it could have potential health and safety implications and engage employers obligations under the Working Time Regulations. It is therefore important, particularly for workers who have had little experience of working from home previously, to ensure there is a separation of work and home life and that everyone understands what the expectations are. For example, that the worker can take regular breaks, that work is not organised so that one meeting/lecture follows on from another throughout the day and that they can (and are encouraged to) switch off from work at the end of the day.

These changes may also require institutions to revaluate the legal framework under which staff are engaged, in order to ensure alignment with their approach to maintaining wellbeing. It may, for example, necessitate a review of relevant contractual terms, policies and procedures (including homeworking policies), work allocations and timetabling and the working day/terms/academic year.  It may also require institutions to reconsider their approach when responding to requests for flexible working.

Staff engagement in a virtual world

Given that visibility of any issues will be much more difficult for HR and managers where there is remote working, it is crucial that the worker understands who they should contact if they have any problems or concerns and that they feel fully empowered to do so. In addition, it is important to regularly ask staff how they are doing and create an environment where they feel able to be open and honest about how they’re feeling.

It is not, of course, only work tasks that institutions need to consider. With social distancing, and workers inevitably feeling disconnected from their colleagues, it is important that institutions’ HR teams provide support and guidance to managers on how to keep in regular contact with their team to make sure that nobody feels isolated – but that this contact (particularly in respect of social events) does not become overbearing or intrusive.

Many institutions are looking at ways they can extend contact beyond the traditional workplace. For example, finding new creative ways of keeping in touch remotely, such as through digital platforms and apps, and hosting virtual social events and celebrations. However, it is important to recognise that one size does not fit all. Some will welcome these initiatives and participate frequently in virtual social events, whereas others will be less inclined to do so. It is important that no one feels compelled to take part in voluntary events but, equally, that no one is excluded.

Institutions will also need to consider the duty to make reasonable adjustments, where individuals are disabled, and how that impacts on working from home, both in relation to physical health and, especially as working from home continues, on a worker’s mental health. This may require the input of both HR professionals and occupational health.

Adapting to the ‘new norm’?

In these exceptional times, it is important for institutions to ensure that all their staff are able to function effectively, providing suitable support and ensuring appropriate working conditions. Despite facing significant challenges, failing to recognise and protect the mental health of a remote workforce could have a considerable impact.

The ‘new norm’ of remote working has been the only way in which institutions have been able to keep operating effectively in these challenging circumstances. From September it seems likely that there will be an increased presence of staff on campus but equally it is clear that for most institutions remote working will continue for the foreseeable future to a much greater extent than was previously the case.

Remote working requires considerable management and HR time and effort to make it work successfully and it does not necessarily get easier the longer it goes on. What is clear is that having an effective remote working strategy in place, which recognises the importance of wellbeing, is a crucial part in getting through these exceptional times together.

Diane Gilhooley

Partner

Head of Eversheds Sutherland’s International Education Sector and Global Head of Employment, Labor and Pensions

and

Rob Gray

Partner