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Leaders urged to prioritise business needs over WFH expectations

Giving recruiters too much say over their working-from-home arrangements could have unintended consequences, according to Certex International MD Dianne Gibert, who advises leaders to put their business needs first.

The extent to which leaders should simply accept that employees want to work from home more of the time has been a key topic of consideration lately, she tells Shortlist.

"The expectation is that you have all of that flexibility."

For some organisations, the arrangement "couldn't be better", but that tends to hinge on three factors: when someone is fully supported in their role; when the role can operate entirely separately from the rest of the business; and where the individual concerned is experienced in what they are doing and their performance isn't an issue.

Despite the pressure employers are under to provide more flexibility, Gibert says the starting point for negotiation has to be what the business needs...