Are many of your employees continuing to work from home? Perhaps this is due to them feeling as though their home is safer than the office as a result of the pandemic. Or maybe your organization was open to remote work prior. Whatever the case, the number of remote employees in the United States has been on the come-up years before COVID-19 struck. Between 2005 and 2018, the total of remote workers jumped by 173%. As it stands today, employers not offering their employees the chance to work from home is considered surprising. Many organizations remain adamant about remote employees, despite their benefits. Largely in part because there is still inherent risk that must be managed.
Though there are positives that come from transitioning employees to working remotely, there are also a number of drawbacks. The first being the difficulty in managing remote staff. Some managers may feel they’re more effective at enabling their staff when they’re in person and able to effectively communicate through any problems. Unfortunately, while working remotely, it’s not as simple as strolling into your manager’s office to discuss an issue at hand. Often times there will be delays in communication, which will also affect the way that collaborative work between departments is completed. It is also a possibility that certain employees operate more effectively while in the office rather than working at home, so managers are faced with the challenge of keeping employees accountable for the work they complete while remote.
There is also the liability that comes from remote employees that businesses owners must consider. Hypothetically, how do you handle one of your employees being injured during their remote stint? Or maybe one of your remote employees has the laptop they needed to be able to work remotely stolen? Worse than both of these situations, what happens if your company’s network is breached due to lack of network security for all of your remote employees? Ensuring you have the correct insurance policy for these sorts of issues is imperative when considering the challenges of enabling remote work.
Another potential issue is that of a cyberattack or data breach. Using an encrypted virtual private network (VPN) and up-to-date firewall and antivirus software can help keep employee and company data secure. Employees should have strong passwords and change them regularly. Additionally, they should keep their computers and mobile devices locked when not in use.
While these steps could help reduce the risk of a data breach, the possibility remains. That’s why it’s critical to have cyber liability insurance. First-party cyber liability insurance covers the damages that result from a data breach on your company’s systems. Third-party cyber liability insurance protects you if a data breach compromises your clients’ information or systems.
While the risks may seem difficult to manage, the truth is that remote employees are often much happier with their work-life balance which often contributes to a higher level of productivity and output. If your organization is struggling to keep its remote employees in check, be sure to check out the infographic paired alongside this post. Courtesy of B2Z Insurance.
