Job candidates leery of negotiated WFH agreements

摘要

Formalise your work from home policies or lose out in the war for talent - that's the warning from Barry Hardy, MD of IT and digital recruitment company Imara Limited. Hardy says job candidates are wary of so-called negotiated agreements or vague promises. They want the 'work from home' condition set in stone before accepting a role. Now that the worst of the pandemic's disruption is hopefully in the past, companies that are comfortable with allowing remote work to continue should consider a formalised 'work from home structure', he says. "Candidates tell us they are choosing companies based on their work from home policies." Work from home policies must be formalised, he added, since it is no longer enough to negotiate an informal remote working agreement with a manager. "A negotiated agreement can be taken away just as quickly as it was handed out. Candidates know that. For example, an employee may have an agreement with a previous boss to finish early on Thursdays, but if that is not in writing and the new manager doesn't like the arrangement, then that puts the employee in an awkward spot," Hardy says.