As of yesterday (Monday 13 December), workers across England are being advised to work from home if they can.

This may see some school support staff now working remotely, as they have done before during the pandemic.

While this is difficult for staff at all levels, we know that, as school leaders, our teams look to us for guidance and that brings its own challenges in a time of confusion and chaos. 

As such, there are a few simple, practical points that managers should bear in mind and that are worth being familiar with as we adapt to another round of pandemic-related changes. 

1. Consider how ‘work from home if you can’ applies to your team

With advice that staff should work from home where possible, line managers should be looking at their teams to see which roles can be fulfilled remotely.

This may seem an easy task, but even within teams this can differ and that has the potential to lead to discontent.

The key here is clear communication - managers should discuss and agree on their approach to homeworking with the team and ensure that any differences are clearly explicable from their approach.

Individual needs and circumstances will, by necessity, be a part of this conversation as some individuals will not have a suitable space to work at home, while others will be concerned by the prospect of travelling to school for a role they feel can be fulfilled at home.

In addition, there could well be an additional strain for those staff members still coming on-site as they cover new work for their colleagues at home. Be sure to monitor this in case it starts to cause any issues. 

2. You are still responsible for the safety of homeworkers

Just because staff are no longer working on-site, that doesn’t mean leaders are absolved of Health and Safety duties. Organisations should have clear processes in place to manage these risks. 

These aspects can be discussed ahead of homeworking to ensure the environment is suitable.

This includes topics ranging from making sure they have a suitable homeworking setup and are physically safe when sitting at their desk, and even overseeing any additional fire risks that might come up as a result of working from home.  

3. Protecting your staff’s mental wellbeing at home

However, the most significant is safeguarding staff’s mental wellbeing when working by themselves.

We know how significantly the pandemic has increased feelings of anxiety and isolation for some, and homeworking itself can cause additional stresses, especially for employees struggling to maintain a work-life balance when they are unable to leave their office behind.

Supporting good mental health will be key for managers.

Take the time to ask about the success or challenges of homeworking during one-to-ones, encourage staff members to use wellbeing plans, help them find the time to undertake de-stressing activities and monitor their behaviour for changes during meetings.  

4. Organising and monitoring workloads

Remote working brings new challenges for the day-to-day running of your area. The loss of informal contact makes supervision much harder, meaning that you will have to plan for how you delegate, monitor and supervise in this new way of working.

This could be by increasing team calls, having more frequently scheduled one-to-ones and online learning events.

If you are more senior, this can be even harder as you’ll have to ensure you continue to spot and develop talent or work on any issues through remote working.

Again, dedicated check-ins will encourage these conversations to continue and that will help retain talent. 

5. Helping staff maintain a successful work-life balance

While you should monitor your team’s output when working remotely, trust is also a key element here.

You should be confident employees can manage their own time and give them the freedom to arrange working hours to suit any domestic commitments.

This is an opportunity to develop staff, to give them increased responsibility for their workload and to help them showcase their outcomes.

Your role as a manager should be to protect your team; without a clear structure to the day, staff can work excessive hours, skip meals and forget to take breaks from their screens. You can support staff remotely by booking lunch slots for them, where they are not to be contacted, and keeping watch for excessive working hours.

Being clear about expectations, and admittedly by regularly monitoring progress, will result in the majority of staff thriving while at home.

You should also feel free to adapt if necessary, move to a hybrid model of home and on-site working for any staff who do struggle with this. 

By following these simple rules, you can use homeworking as an opportunity to make your team more efficient, happier and more productive. Evidence shows that homeworking can be hugely successful when done well, empowering staff by giving them flexibility and the freedom to use their own initiative. 

Rachel Ridgill is HR director at the David Ross Education Trust