Working From Home: The New Normal?

As you may have seen in our last article, the picture for the training sector is currently looking fairly positive. 25% of those surveyed who remain in full time employment reported business as usual with a further 50% stating they have had to make adjustments, but are now working as normal.

These adjustments largely relate to adapting to working from home. Of course some people were already equipped to do this, but for many, working completely remotely has been a big change. ‘Online meetings’, ‘working from home trying to teach a vocational subject’ and ‘working more with digital aids to support learners’ are just some of the new challenges and adjustments faced by trainers.

Motivation levels remain high

Despite this, only 23.5% of survey respondents said that they are struggling to remain as motivated as they would normally be, indicating that despite the changes they have had to make, most people in the sector are still committed to delivering an excellent standard of teaching for learners.

64% of respondents told us that they feel that their employer has taken specific steps to support them and keep them engaged during this difficult period. Of these, 60% said that they are now having daily contact with their managers – for some, this means that they are having a lot more contact with management than before the outbreak. Many trainers have told us of the ‘updates’ and ‘praise’ they are receiving from their managers.

Remote working

For many people working in the sector, this is the first time they will have relied on remote working and communications software such as Skype and Zoom. For training staff who are more used to these kinds of technologies, it may be the first time they have used it to communicate with managers or the office support team. Whilst this has taken some adjusting to for many, this could ultimately be a positive for the training sector – with more training staff set up to deliver remotely, this may lead to greater flexibility for both trainers and learners.

In addition, working from home has led to ‘reduced stress’ for some, with travel time eliminated and more time to spend with family and on other pursuits. One trainer commented that ‘there are benefits to what is happening for each of us. It is worth focusing on these’ – something we can all bear in mind moving forwards, despite the difficulties presented by the current situation.

Sarah Burns, GPRS Recruitment