Remote work has become much more common as a result of COVID-19. The degree of employees who now remotely report to work full-time is incredible. However, these past two years weren’t the only time that saw a sizable increase in the remote employee population. Ranging from 2005 to 2018, the remote worker population rose by 173%. As remote work remains the safest option for employees, more and more employers are extending their remote policies. This often comes with some benefits for employers, such as paying less for overhead costs and minimizing environmental impact. It also comes with some additional risk, which this post will detail.
It’s only natural that there will be some drawbacks as a result of remote workers. As managers adjust to the remote landscape simultaneously, it can be difficult for them to effectively assist and oversee their departments. The same can be said for employees tending to their responsibilities and participating in cross-department projects.
Aside from productivity issues, remote employees also spawn additional liability that must be considered. For example, how should an organization approach an injury faced by one of their employees while working from home? What about an employee’s hardware being stolen? Not only does this leave a financial burden, but it opens the door to data breaches which is a much more difficult issue to handle. These situations are much more common than people would think which is why so many businesses have insurance policies in place to cover these damages.
As cyberattacks remain so common, organizations should be equipped prior to transitioning their employees to remote full-time. Most importantly, an encrypted virtual private network to connect to and secure data should be priority number one. Firewall coupled with antivirus software is a sound defense as well. Any investment is meant to reduce the risk of a targeted attack, but the possibility remains. Organizations should look to cyber liability insurance when they feel vulnerable. First-party coverage includes damages related to your organization’s data, whereas third-party coverage includes protection if your organization’s data is compromised.
Being prepared in all of these aspects is what will keep your organization safe as employees continue to work remotely. For more information regarding how remote work benefits employees and ways to further protect your organization, be sure to check out the resource featured alongside this post. Courtesy of B2Z Insurance.