Central Illinois' IT Experts

Some Background on the Issue

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work was considered an exception rather than the norm, with many companies flat-out refusing to allow it. Businesses would invest money in providing employees with space for them to work, and the idea was that long-term remote employment would diminish the productivity of an employee over time. This kind of issue would hinder a business’ continued growth and stymie the employees’ professional development.

Of course, the pandemic had other ideas, and most employees who could work remotely were now forced to for the greater good. This eliminated many of the stressors that can come from office employment, like the commute, unnecessary in-person meetings, and so on. They no longer had to feel obligated to participate in events or meetings where their presence was not needed. However, it all came at a cost: the maintaining of productivity levels, something which is challenging for employees the longer it goes on.

All of this created the perfect storm for an event called The Great Resignation, or people leaving their jobs for full-remote work rather than return to the office. Some older employees would rather retire than be forced to work from home and learn new technology skills in the process, and some chose to retire for the exact opposite reasons, realizing that their health and safety were more important than a return to the office. The decisions of the above make sense, as they could make more money and avoid contracting COVID-19 without leaving their home, but the unfortunate side-effects of remote work became more apparent as the pandemic wore on.

The Return to the Office

Gradually, the pandemic diminished, and more employers started requiring their employees to return to the office. People were of mixed opinions on this; some thought it was unnecessary, while others were champing at the bit to see their coworkers again in a relatively normal workplace setting. The fact that many people did not want to return to the office, however, forced employers to consider the ramifications of continued remote work.

Productivity and company culture were two of the major issues on the docket for discussion, as well as the idea of a more flexible work schedule that doesn’t necessarily fall into traditional operating hours. There are so many distractions at home that it’s virtually impossible for remote employees to go about their duties completely uninterrupted. Of course, the same could be said for the office, but it’s easier to maintain focus on work when you’re, well, at work.

So, why can’t workers maintain productivity without the distraction of the workplace? The answer to this question is a bit more nuanced than you might expect. The truth is that employees with remote work are going to be more productive when they focus on their work, but this focus cannot be sustained as long due to the other distractions, comforts, and conveniences that working from home has to offer.

Really, remote workers are just as productive as they are in the office—it’s just that it’s done in less time and in a less sustained way than it might be in, say, the office. If anything, remote workers can be considered more productive in a short period of time compared to the traditional office worker. To take advantage of both circumstances, however, employers can implement a  hybrid workplace policy.

Some Hybrid Work Strategies to Consider

If you want to get the most out of both remote and in-house workers, then perhaps a hybrid solution can be an easy middle ground. It provides the flexibility workers want with the productivity expectations of employers. It also encourages an improved work-life balance, fewer commutes, and flexibility in how employees approach their work, all while making sure that the capacity for collaboration is there if it’s needed.

Granted, it’s not that simple, but it’s an improvement if implemented properly. You’ll need to have a plan if you want to get the most out of hybrid work while ensuring that everything gets done. Furthermore, consider that your best employees will make career decisions based on the ability to work remotely and the flexibility to work from home, so having this built into your work strategy can be good for both talent acquisition and retention. Here are some tips to keep in mind:

Be Flexible Yourself

This big change to your operations will likely result in a shakeup in terms of how you approach certain processes and policies. Be sure to pay attention to how your team works and operates so that you can make the best decisions possible with the information you have. Your team’s newfound work strategies might give you ideas for how you can be more effective as an organization.

Promote Connection

Having a dedicated workplace culture can be great for employee satisfaction, but it’s significantly more difficult if your team isn’t always in the office. Make efforts to keep your team connected even if they are working remotely. Provide communication tools, encourage in-house gatherings, and promote camaraderie whenever possible.

Hybrid work is only effective if you provide the appropriate tools for the job, too, so if you need a hand with deploying the technology needed to maintain operations while out of the office, Decatur Computers Inc. can help. To learn more, call us today at 217-475-0226.

How Does Security Fatigue Work?

Imagine for a moment that you are an employee, or rather, anyone who might not necessarily have to worry about cybersecurity on a business level. You are asked to make a new password for all of your accounts once a month, and you dread having to use the multi-factor authentication tool just to get logged in to do your job. Furthermore, you have mandatory cybersecurity training scheduled for when you had intended to catch up on your important tasks.

Sound like a lot? That’s kind of the point here; people will always be the weakest link in your cybersecurity infrastructure, and all of the policies and procedures outlined above are only effective if your team has the mental bandwidth to adhere to them.

Constantly being asked to do the same thing, over and over, particularly where cybersecurity is concerned, has led employees to finding more streamlined ways to approach their own personal cybersecurity policies, just to keep up with organizational expectations. In other words, they cut corners by using the same passwords over and over again, or they use the same password and change the number at the end.

There are other aspects of security fatigue, but suffice to say that it’s when the business places so much emphasis on security and safeguards that its employees lose interest in maintaining them, resulting in less security as a whole.

What Are the Symptoms of Security Fatigue?

Cybersecurity fatigue can come with a variety of symptoms that can tell you whether or not your business is at risk. Here are some of them:

• Have you or your team members grown more lax with your password practices?
• Are you or your team members prone to connect to insecure networks without the added protection of a virtual private network, even when accessing sensitive accounts and data?
• Do you and your team keep an eye out for signs of phishing, or are most messages taken at face value?
• Are work devices commonly used for personal activity?
• Is IT kept apprised of incidents and issues promptly, or are such things only reported when the circumstances are severe?
• Do you or your team members frequently use workarounds to bypass your security?
• Are work devices kept appropriately up-to-date, or have updates been somewhat neglected?

Do these sound familiar? Chances are you’re dealing with security fatigue.

How to Cure Security Fatigue

There are ways you can take action against security fatigue, and they aren’t terribly complicated. The biggest thing to keep in mind regarding these measures, however, is that you cannot compromise your business’ security in the process. You can, however, take a lot of stress off your team’s shoulders by automatically handling a lot of processes, like patching and updates, remote management, password management, and so on, all to help productivity while maintaining security.

Decatur Computers Inc. can help your business work toward a healthy cybersecurity culture. To learn more, call us today at 217-475-0226.

Secure Your Endpoints

Enterprise-level security solutions that can help you protect all endpoints of your business are crucial to keeping your infrastructure secure. You should implement a firewall, antivirus solution, spam blocker, and content filter that can govern your entire computing infrastructure. This software will handle most of the hard work for endpoint protection, and keep in mind that endpoints also include mobile devices and IoT devices, too.

Implement Patches and Security Updates

Software is at the heart of your business operations, and as such, you’ll want to make sure you are keeping it all up-to-date so that your solutions aren’t putting your business in harm’s way. You need to make sure that you’re applying patches and security updates as they are released so that you’re addressing all possible vulnerabilities and bugs which could allow a threat to slip through the cracks.

Train Your Employees on Security Practices

No matter how many solutions you implement for your business, chances are you’ll still be at risk of a cyberattack against your employees. This is the downside of advanced cybersecurity solutions; criminals know they can’t break through, so they look for other avenues of access, including your staff. You should educate your employees on topics like secure password creation, phishing attacks, and routine tests that keep them engaged in your culture of cybersecurity.

Utilize Multi-Factor Authentication

Account access is something you cannot neglect for your infrastructure security, and the simple and harsh truth is that complex passwords are only a single, small part of controlling account access. You should implement multi-factor authentication so that you can use a combination of factors to guarantee that users accessing an account are who they claim to be. Measures include something you know (a password or passphrase), something you own (a smartphone or mobile device), and something you are (fingerprints, face scans, other biometrics).

Keeping your business safe is not a one-and-done kind of initiative; it’s an ongoing process that requires careful monitoring, maintenance, and evaluation. To learn more about how you can keep your company safe from today’s advanced cyberthreats, reach out to us at 217-475-0226.