Is compensation for toilet paper improving the employee engagement?

“FNV wants to force employers to pay their employees an allowance for working from home.” 

Really? Do I have to reimburse toilet paper for my employees now they are working more from home? Isn’t that a bit out of line? What do we think about compensation for working from home? And which useful takeaways can we share?

Reimbursement toilet paper versus employee engagement

Ask yourself this question “Would an allowance for toilet paper, coffee and the electricity bill make your employee more engaged, productive and come up with better innovative ideas?” 

We don’t think so. If you save money because of less travel expenses and use of office space, be creative. How would you like to inspire and motivate your employees in these times?  Plan a fun event with your team, send them a giftcard to support your fellow entrepreneurs  in the cultural sector, provide training and development, do something that enriches your culture now everyone is working from home.  And if you can’t,  because we all know a lot of company’s need these savings to survive, communicate this with your team.

Yes, you are still responsible for good health and wellbeing

Of course you are responsible for the health and wellbeing of you employees, even when they work from home. Discuss with your employees what they need to create a good and healthy work environment at home and give them what they need and is required.  And when it’s financially difficult to buy screens, desks, chairs etc., you can move stuff from the office to their homes. You won’t need all that stuff at the office right now anyway.  

If you provide your employees with a workplace or give them an allowance to organize a workplace for themselves. Don’t forget to check what is possible in the werkkostenregeling (WKR) and what is legally required. Make sure to confirm the agreements in writing. 

Our takeaways

• Take your responsibility as a good employer and provide healthy work environments at the homes of your employees. And don’t forget a mental health check on a regular basis.
• If you want to provide extra compensation for working from home. Keep the employment conditions the same as they were pre-corona. Don’t interfere with the actual household costs of your employees.
• Always make sure what you do fits your company culture. There is a clear “why” you are initiating something or not and be transparent to your team about it.

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