return to work Archives

What We Learned About Remote Working in 2020

What did we learn from remote working last year? Plenty, as it turns out. We upped our tech game at home. Kind of. We bought more equipment for our home studios and home offices. This correlates with increased video conferencing as well as the rise in podcasting that people and companies are venturing into. Microphone sales increased near the end of 2020 and are expected to continue to grow at a CAGR of 7.9% through 2025. What were we buying for our home studios? Microphones Speakers Gaming headsets (hitting record levels) Soundproofing foam Everything by Apple (Macbook Pros, iMacs, iPhones, iPads, and Airpods, all hit record sales numbers) What didn't we buy? New desks and chairs (Haworth sales, for example, dropped from $2.25B in 2019 to $1.8B in 2020) Faster WIFI (Some states increased their WIFI speeds, but as a nation, home accounts did not) New PCs (sales dropped by ...

Nine Ways to Ensure Your Company is Protecting its Employees

We all know the basics like hand-washing and social distancing, so let’s cut to the chase and talk about some topics (and solutions) you might not have considered. 1. You can’t change human behavior, but you can nudge it. The employee who was a germaphobe before quarantine began will likely continue to be the safest employee. The employee who throws dishes in the sink without washing them, and leaves empty containers everywhere will not likely change their behavior. Nothing will change here. Solution: That doesn’t mean you can make it easier for employee safety. Many companies are putting touchless hand sanitizer stations (like this one) at all entrances and in the shared dining areas. Others are requiring temperature checks upon entering. This means staff trained in taking temperatures are required and that can be a significant investment in resources. 2. Don't bother with "Who's at risk?" assessments. Why not? Because every employee who is ...