Company culture at stake with telecommuting workforce

Remote worker safety is a top concern of executives, but other workplace issues are bigger challenges, a study reveals.

In a 2021 report, “The CEO-CHRO Partnership,” 67% of 243 CEOs surveyed and 62% of 406 chief human resources officers polled agreed that maintaining company culture is a major challenge posed by
remote work. 

The report, produced by the Chief Executive Group and the Society for Human Resource Management, said 35% of CEOs and 39% of CHROs put home-office arrangements among the top concerns (see chart).

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It is meaningful that more than one-third of the executives consider employee home-office arrangements a top issue, said Liz Petersen, San Diego-based quality manager in SHRM’s knowledge center.

“The ergonomics piece is part of the puzzle, and it’s a difficult one,” she said.

Ensuring the safety of remote workers is the responsibility of an employer’s ergonomics manager, and human resources should provide employees with best practices that will keep them healthy,
Ms. Petersen said. 

“Also, HR and risk management are going to be working together to ensure that there’s communication, training and resources,”
she added.