As a business owner or manager navigating through the tough times of the pandemic, it’s likely that you still have some employees working remotely full time. The same can be said for other organizations around the country as well. However, even before the pandemic struck the United States, full-time remote employees saw a huge jump. Between the years 2005 and 2018, the number of full-time remote employees saw a o 173% increase. Now, as the pandemic has made the remote work option feel like a necessity, this number has seen an even more significant increase. Remote employees aren’t all bad, though. In fact, they can save your organization a great deal of money through reduced overhead costs and a smaller environmental footprint.
While employing remote staff has its benefits, it also suffers from a number of challenges as well. The hardest aspect of employing a remote staff is managing them. Certain managers may struggle without being able to communicate to their staff face-to-face, the same way that employees may feel less obligated to operate at full capacity knowing they’re not under watch of their superiors as consistently as they would be while being in the office. Remote staff has been known to struggle in regards to collaboration across different teams as well. It can be difficult to remain connected with team members in isolation, meaning work relationships will often struggle which can affect the output of these remote employees.
Another important aspect of remote work that is often overlooked is the potential liability that an organization can face. Businesses may overlook this, but there are countless incidents that can occur that would bring an organization’s insurance coverage into question. For example, an employee facing any sort of physical injury whilst working from home. Or, in more extreme scenarios, what if an employee unknowingly contributes to a data breach that puts company data at risk? Regardless of the severity of the issue, organizations should always employ some form of insurance to protect them from these situations.
As previously mentioned, cyber attacks and data breaches are certainly a risk associated with a remote workforce. In order to avoid these attacks as best as an organization can, it’s imperative to invest in a VPN and the most updated antivirus software and firewall security to protect your organization from these targeted attacks. In most instances, these attacks aren’t as a result of any remote employees’ wrongdoings. Regardless of this fact, though, organizations are still expected to have some sort of insurance policy to cover any of the data lost. In instances where your organization is being put in jeopardy, you’ll want to make sure you have first-party cyber liability insurance to cover any damages. In instances where your partners’ or clients’ information is put into jeopardy, you’ll want to ensure you have third-party liability insurance to cover the damages.
Despite all of these challenges, allowing remote work does do a great deal of good for your employees. More professional freedom often means enhanced productivity and a healthier work-life balance for employees. So, while it is in your best interest as an organization to support a remote staff, always consider the associated troubles and liability and act accordingly. For more information regarding remote employees and how to keep your organization secure, be sure to check out the infographic coupled alongside this post. Courtesy of B2Z Insurance.
