Can HR Managers Work From Home?

While more and more companies are slowly adopting newer industry standards — such as flextime and working from home –, it makes sense to ask the question: “Can I do the same, too?” Unfortunately, not everyone can work whenever they please or at the comfort of their homes. This includes most frontline employees in the services and manufacturing sector. But Can HR managers Work from Home, too? Or are they among the exceptions?

It Depends on What You Do

The main problem with working at home is physical availability. Depending on your department\’s role, you might be too important to go away from the office. A sizable number of roles could definitely be done in the comfort of one’s home. However, some may need to be done in the office, alongside other employees.

Usually, the ones who may not work from home are the ones who are more involved with training and supervisorial tasks. Depending on the training program and industry, training managers may need to be on-site to see their trainees’ progress. Meanwhile, supervisors must always be aware of what their team members are doing. In physical jobs such as those in the construction or hospital industries, supervisors will need to check on them physically.

On the other hand, logistics and recruitment managers may only need to report to the field or office once in a few days or so. This is because their jobs rely more on analysis, and they can usually be handed information from other sources (such as phone calls, email, or instant messaging). Furthermore, a recruitment process can even be done fully online in some industries, such as BPO and software.

Is It Practical?

In the end, the company will always need human resource managers to drive down costs and increase employee productivity. If working from home makes it harder to work, then why even bother?

For some managers, being in the office means they have quicker access to certain documents or amenities, which they may not bring at home. It could be a classified document’s hard copy or an industrial scanner. It could also be with morale, as some people tend to have a more challenging time separating work time from family time in the house.

Practicality will always depend on the company’s structure and the situation at hand. No two companies with the same department can always have the same needs. Therefore, what might be practical for one might not be for the other.

Your Company’s Culture

Lastly, the culture and principles by which your company adheres may play a key role. In some companies with traditional office culture, having human resource personnel work at home may decrease employee morale when everyone else toils away in the office. As such, it is always better to gauge if working from home is a viable option at all, despite the possible company gains.

If you are an n HR manager and want to work from home, start applying to remote jobs. Order a personal background check to strengthen your profile.