Especially during the pandemic period, many companies have taken the plunge and moved their employees’ workplace to a home office. For many employees, this is a great relief and associated with a more efficient way of working. However, the home office also brings with it some challenges, which we would like to discuss today.
A short overview in advance
Home office creates new options
Flexibility
In addition to working at the desk in the office, the home office is creating more and more opportunities these days. Both sides, employer and employee, benefit from these opportunities. Working in a home office, for example, allows employees to schedule their working hours more flexibly. For many professions, Internet access is often the only prerequisite for working and having access to all company data.
For employees, this may mean a better work-life balance, because they can adjust their working hours to their individual needs. Of course, only insofar as one is not tied to a permanent presence, for example in telephone support.
Cost savings
On a cost basis, there is also a win-win situation for both employee and employer. The home office allows the employee to save on personal costs. Since he no longer has to commute to work every day, his expenses for transportation, parking fees or, if applicable, public transportation are reduced. The employer, in turn, saves costs for office supplies and meals, provided these are offered at the company’s expense.
Productivity
You usually work in an open-plan office and it’s basically always a bit noisy around you? Other colleagues have lots of great ideas, but always want to share them with you directly, without paying attention to the fact that you are actually focused on your work?
Many employees find working from a home office increases productivity because they can work in their familiar home environment. Through this, some people have fewer distractions from actual work. In addition, they can design their work environment according to their personal needs in order to work optimally.
Employee satisfaction
The pandemic period has shown employers who may have had their doubts that it can work. Confidence in one’s own employees and the concession of being able to work from home also strengthen the employee’s commitment to the company.
Home office can lead to higher employee satisfaction because it allows employees to be more flexible in their work and have more autonomy. Satisfied employees are often more motivated and generally perform better work.
Talent search for your company
You have been posting various job advertisements for a long time, but the number of applicants from the local area is rather manageable? Here, too, you can use the advantages of remote working and expand your job postings.
With home office as an option, companies can expand their talent pool by looking for employees who do not live in the immediate vicinity of the office. This allows you to hire qualified employees from different locations, which can promote diversity and team constellation.
The challenges and disadvantages of the home office
Communication challenges
In the home office, communication with colleagues or even superiors can be more difficult. Not everyone is comfortable talking via phone or a chat program. However, personal interaction is reduced by the home office. This can lead to misunderstandings or loss of information, especially with complex tasks or projects that require close collaboration. Remedy this and create a basis for communication for the entire team.
Social isolation
The home office is both a curse and a blessing. One person will appreciate finding a little more peace and quiet for himself and his work, while the other may suffer more from the situation. For many people, personal exchange with colleagues is very important. For the team feeling and the cooperation in projects, the home office can also be a situation that quickly becomes a challenge. Especially if team members work at different locations, a way should be created in good time to prevent this social isolation. Regular team meetings via online communication tools and video chats would be a first step.
Distractions
Not every employee is cut out to work at home. Home offices can also mean that there are often enough potential distractions in the home environment, such as household tasks, pets or family members. This can have a negative impact on productivity if appropriate measures are not taken to manage distractions.
Talk to your employees about whether remote working is really something for them or whether they would like a certain “trial period” for this. Perhaps a daily work routine first needs to settle in here until you have created the desired atmosphere for working.
Lack of separation between work and private life
Apart from the distraction during working hours, the home office can also become a psychological burden for some people. In the home office, it can be difficult to separate work and private life, since the workplace is in the same environment as the private sphere. One man’s joy is another man’s sorrow.
This can lead to an imbalance between work and private life and affect the work-life balance. Not everyone can handle this. Home office should therefore only be considered by people who really feel comfortable with this work constellation and can structure their tasks. A distinction from private life is important here.
Technical challenges
Let’s take another look at the basics for efficient homeworking. Is a reliable Internet connection available to you at all times in your home office? Do you already have the necessary hardware equipment for your job or does the employer still have to invest and provide you with the appropriate devices?
For a pure office job, a laptop or a Macbook might be enough for the employee. In other professions, however, it should be carefully examined what equipment is necessary to work properly and whether it is also efficient for the company to purchase it twice, if necessary, if an employee does not work 100% remotely.
Home office tax deductibility
We cannot answer questions such as “Can I deduct my study?” or “What is the tax treatment of home office costs?” from a tax perspective and advise you to consult a tax advisor. However, you should take a look at this topic when you, as an employee, prepare your next income tax return. By declaring your own workroom, you can certainly save taxes in the home office.
For those who don’t use their own workroom but still do a lot of their work at home, the home office flat rate, which has been introduced since the pandemic, is worthwhile. A tax advisor certainly has even more home office tax tips for employees, but also for employers. It is worth asking!
Use easybill flexibly from anywhere
After all the pros and cons discussed, easybill comes into play. As a cloud-based invoicing solution, easybill is ready to use at any time and can be operated from anywhere in the world. Whether you are in your home office or in the office, whether you are lying on the beach or sitting in the train because you are going to a business meeting, easybill is there for you. All you need is available Internet access, as nothing is installed locally.
Via the rights management for employee accesses, you, as the employer, can define which employee gets which ToDo’s in the account and what his responsibilities are. Increase teamwork through the interaction of employees in sales, who create offers and orders, through accounting, who issue invoices, to collaboration with the tax advisor. The latter can access the data in the account via separate tax consultant access and export it for his accounting.
And if any of you have questions? Then our support is always available for you. Call us, send us an e-mail or let us call you back free of charge at a time that suits you. Of course, this applies to every user of the software.
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