The blurring of boundaries between our work and personal lives is a trend we have heard a great deal about over the past few years, particularly in terms of the advantages this has for employers and employees alike.
At the same time, we frequently hear from all sections of the industry how some employers are taking the time to listen to what their employees really want from their benefits packages.
So, I have to admit, I was a little surprised to hear of the decision of some (fairly large and well-known) organisations to ban employees from receiving personal parcel deliveries at work.
On the face of it, this seems like a relatively small thing, with the decision having been made for a variety of logistical issues. But, for many employees, it is the so-called small things that can often make the biggest difference to their everyday lives. And when someone has come to count on specific benefits, they will really notice the difference if it is taken away.
I appreciate that for many of the organisations reported to be introducing this ban the sheer number of deliveries they receive, as well as the need to carry out security checks on packages, means this can be a time intensive and costly business. But, on the whole, these are not small organisations. So, would the cost of recruiting a dedicated individual to do this outweigh the overall loss of employee engagement and goodwill resulting from staff not being able to receive deliveries at work?
And, if there really is no alternative to banning personal parcel deliveries in the workplace, how many of these organisations will instead allow their staff to work flexibly if they are expecting a parcel delivery?
The people I’ve spoken to so far about the move unanimously haven’t been able to see how this will work in practice without creating a great deal of upset among staff. I’ll be interested to see how it plays out.
Debbie Lovewell-Tuck
Editor
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