Proposed bill of rights for WFH workers

Proposed bill of rights for WFH workers

Posted by CavilUSA on Feb 2nd 2023

The COVID-19 Pandemic might have gone but the Digital Nomad is here to stay

So, what should employers be doing to make sure their employees are receiving the correct support whilst working from home?

In the US working from home rocketed from 5.7% in 2019 (roughly 9 million people) to 17.9% in 2022 (27.6 million people), and that doesn’t account for the 29% of employees hybrid working.

A survey on remote working led the respondents to say that, “if the ability to work from home was taken away” 66% (of those working remotely) “would immediately start looking for a job that offered this flexibility” and 39% “would simply quit”.

This sudden and dramatic transition to WFH and Hybrid working as well as the recognition that this Labor Market trend is to be a permanent change in Labor Force behavior has called for the need in legislative changes.

So! That’s how the proposed bill of rights for WFH workers was born and today we are focusing in on Article 2 of this bill.

Article 2: The employer pays for required business equipment & services “If a business requires employees to use specific devices (such as computers, phones, and peripherals), it must provide them, either directly or through reimbursement.“

That’s all good and well - but what is a “peripheral“ in the context of this proposed bill and how does an employer select peripherals which comply with the 'suitable seating at work requirements'? Well, for the purpose of this bill, peripherals are defined as: “Office chair, office desk, monitor, keyboard, mouse or trackpad, and headset, plus any required cabling“

Gone are the days where working from the bed or from a garden bench are deemed acceptable.

It’s time to get ahead of the WFH and Hybrid Labor Market trend and get compliant with the proposed legislative changes and US bill of rights for WFH workers. After all, similar bills have been introduced globally and, as of 24th January 2023, 24 countries have already passed it into their legislative framework - this isn't going to go away!

Your employees are likely to already have computers and phones. Advancements and the rise in technology paved the move to mobile devices years before COVID-19 - but are your work from home and hybrid employees kitted out with “seating at work compliant chairs and tables“? That's only a very recent development after all!

Making sure your employees have the correct equipment when working from home is really important. Not only will it keep you on the right side of the legislation but it will also get the best from your WFH Labor Force.

Studies have shown that those who work from home with a proper workstation set-up are firstly, far more productive throughout their working day and secondly, suffer from fewer repetitive strain / masculatory pain sick days throughout their working year.

At CavilUSA we only stock commercial grade, fully certified office seating & furniture solutions which fully comply with long hours of seating at work requirements. Our chairs are tested, certified and meet Ergonomic Standards.

Why not have a browse of our site and let us help you stay ahead of the law and the WFH revolution.

*Our manufacturing processes & quality standards certificates are compliant with ISO quality Standards as well as being Ergonomically certified & hold the FSC award.

* Source ACS 2021 Survey