The pandemic has resulted in a number of permanent changes to work culture, particularly where remote work is concerned. Whereas before the first lockdowns many employers resisted requests to work from home, their attitude quickly changed as the need to keep the lights on remained after workers left the office.

But not everyone got the message, and that was particularly apparent as COVID infection rates began to fall and organizations started refining their post-pandemic workforce plans. Many organizations attempted to enforce strict RTO rules, often giving employees a stark choice: come back to the office or start looking for another job.

To no one’s surprise, all-or-nothing RTO edicts weren’t well received by workers who had already proven their ability to maintain and grow productivity from any location. Data from Citrix bears this out, as it concluded that knowledge workers who had been forced back into the office full-time, had less trust in their employers than hybrid or remote workers.

A Gallup survey reinforces this. Employees who are pushed back to the office, but who would rather work remotely or mostly-remotely, are much less engaged in their work, experience higher rates of burnout, and are far more likely to leave the organization entirely.

BEST PRACTICES MATTER

Fortunately, the answer for a successful transition back from the fully remote workstyles that defined much of the pandemic isn’t as complex as it might seem. Consider the following best practices as you build out your own roadmap for employees:

1. Communicate early. Communicate often. When in doubt, over-communicate your plans so that employees know the RTO roadmap and can adjust their own plans accordingly. Never assume that employees will “just know” what the organization has in mind. The more advance notice you can provide to any upcoming changes in remote/in-office-hybrid work policies, the better.
2. Keep it bidirectional. It’s 2023, and organizations can no longer expect to dictate terms to employees and expect them to mindlessly accept them. Knowledge workers are increasingly willing and able to jump ship, and ongoing skills shortages place greater pressure on employers to listen thoughtfully to employee concerns and adjust their plans accordingly. Actively solicit input from employees and make sure the process is more of a conversation and less of a one-way stream or corporate edicts.
3. Keep it flexible. The hybrid roadmap is not a single-point-in-time project. The plan should evolve organically as the organization receives feedback from employees and stakeholders and incorporates those insights back into the plan. Position it as an ongoing partnership with employees and allow them to help shape where and how they work.
4. Provide ample ongoing support. After working almost exclusively from home for two to three years, employees may need help to adapt to the changes in workstyle. Mental health took a beating these past few years, and organizations that help their people both in-person and online will end up with happier, more engaged workers. Counselling, training, support groups, and other tools can ensure employees never feel alone as they transition into the post-pandemic workplace.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Employees have spoken, and the data doesn’t lie. A report from Gitnux suggests almost two-thirds – or 63% – of high-growth organizations now employ hybrid work models, while almost three-quarters (74%) of all organizations either have already implemented permanent hybrid work models, or plan to do so. A full 83% of all workers would prefer hybrid work and are prepared to quit if they don’t get it.

It’s clear that old assumptions about remote workers being somehow less productive than their in-office colleagues are being cast aside. And employers who order employees back to a physical office will learn the hard way that this outdated strategy destroys trust and undermines recruitment and retention efforts.

The developers and staff at STEP Software have access to a flexible hybrid work environment that allows individuals to decide where and how they work. As we’ve reviewed and implemented changes to our own post-pandemic work styles, we’ve learned a few lessons along the way. Drop us a line if you’d like to learn more.

The post Follow these 4 steps to build a successful post-pandemic roadmap for hybrid work first appeared on STEP Software.

After millions of workers worldwide were sent home following the first wave of lockdowns in March 2020, cybercriminals shifted gears. Amid the chaos of those early days, as corporate IT focused on keeping remote workers productive, ransomware attacks skyrocketed, with the FBI reporting a 62% increase in ransomware reports in the first half of 2021 compared to the same year-ago period. This follows a 20% increase in 2020.

None of this came as any surprise to those of us in IT; the pandemic opened the door and malicious actors were only too happy to walk through. Workers were figuring out how to use new-to-them collaboration tools like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Cisco WebEx, and others. Vendors were struggling to introduce new features that better replicated the rich collaborative landscape of their now-shuttered office spaces. Business leaders straddled the precarious line between privacy and productivity, all while keeping virtual offices open.

Thanks to all this chaos, new security vulnerabilities were being discovered daily. And all this was playing out across the same home networks that the kids were using to stream Netflix, play video games, and share TikTok videos and do school online.

Security wasn’t exactly everyone’s priority, and cybercriminals picked up on it. Most ransomware attacks, like the Colonial Pipeline event, which resulted in fuel shortages throughout the Eastern Seaboard, and the JBS Foods attack,  which limited meat supply across the U.S., start with a targeted phishing campaign against employees. With businesses having limited access to effective training resources to combat this rising threat, end-users represented the weakest link in the chain, and easy pickings for opportunistic digital criminals.

TIME TO GET CYBERSECURITY-SERIOUS

Almost two-and-a-half years into this global crisis, employers – and their home-based workers – must shift from a reactive mode to proactive model. This paradigm shift is necessary to protect themselves and their companies from the increasingly challenging threat landscape. With hybrid work becoming more commonplace, employers and their workers have a responsibility to STEP up their cybersecurity game. Whether you’re working from home full-time or have shifted into a hybrid arrangement, it’s up to you to protect yourself and your employer as if your job depended on it. Because it just might.

With remote and hybrid workers now representing the front line of defense against increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks, these straightforward changes can go a long way towards keeping you and your employer, from becoming the next major headline:

1 – Use email and messaging apps more wisely

Most ransomware attacks begin with a message that looks like it comes from a legitimate source – like your VP, or IT team, or a client – but in reality, it does not. Get into the habit of not responding on touchscreen devices like smartphones or tablets. Instead, wait until you’re back at your laptop or desktop PC, then use your mouse to hover over the message header information. Look for anomalies – like extra or missing letters or fake domains – in email addresses and URLs. Do not reply to suspicious messages and never click on links or buttons, either. Dispense with the notion that we need to respond to every message we receive.

2 – Smarten up your passwords

Weak password protocols and habits can significantly expose you and your organization to an attack. Update your password game with new, strong, unique passwords on all your corporate and personal accounts. Never use the same password for more than one purpose. Instead, use unique passwords for each app, website, or service. Never use an easily guessed password, like a pet’s or a partner’s name. Change them often, at least quarterly but ideally, monthly. Use strong passwords – mix in upper and lower-case characters, as well as numbers and special characters. Even better, use pass phrases, as they can be even more difficult to crack. Use a password manager if you’re having trouble managing them all – because as much of a hassle as it is to be password-safe, it’s an even bigger hassle to recover from a cyberattack.

3 – Update your devices and apps

Cybercriminals just love targeting devices whose software hasn’t been updated in a while, as they lack critical security patches and fixes and are consequently that much more vulnerable. For any internet-connected device on the same home-based network that’s also being used for corporate work, make sure you’ve updated to the latest version of the operating software or firmware that runs it. Do the same for your apps and your browser.

Pro Tip: Turn on auto-update for all your devices, apps, and browsers to minimize your exposure to fast-emerging threats. Check with your IT department to ensure they’re keeping corporate-deployed hardware maintained from their end, as well.

4 – Set encryption to kill

Encrypted data is like the secret decoder rings of our childhood: bad guys can’t read it unless they have the ring. To them, it’ll be gibberish. Use a virtual private network – VPN – to encrypt all traffic on all devices. Many devices, apps, and services now have encryption built into the settings – all you have to do is turn it on. If all of this sounds like gibberish to you, reach out to IT to ensure they’re applying the latest levels of encryption to all devices and apps that you’re using to get work done.

5 – Tighten authentication

If you aren’t using two-factor authentication (also sometimes referred to as 2FA, or multi-factor authentication/MFA) stop what you’re doing and activate it now. It ensures that even if your password is compromised, there’s another layer of security – like a fingerprint or facial scan – to go through.

6 – Check file extensions carefully

Ransomware attacks often originate with infected email links – and clicking on those links could unleash enormous damage to the corporate network. One of the best ways to protect against this type of attack is by getting to know which file extensions are most likely to harbor malware and other threats. If you receive a link with the file extension .VBS, .EXE or .SCR, do not click on them. Instead, check with the IT team, as these executables could be carrying dangerous payloads. Pay close attention to Microsoft Office extensions, like .DOCX, .XLSX, or PPTX, as well, as they, too, could contain automated scripts that, upon being clicked, infect your device with malware.

7 – Stop oversharing

Revealing too many details about yourself – both on social media as well as across email and other messaging platforms – could make you a prime target for cybercrime. Review your profile information on all your public-facing accounts. Set limits on who can see what you post – but remember that nothing is every truly private online. Get rid of old posts that might contain private or sensitive data that cybercriminals could use in a potential attack. Scan your friends and followers and get rid of questionable connections.

8 – Get to know your IT team

When we all worked in physical offices, it was easy to wander over to the IT team whenever we had a problem. With the rise in remote and hybrid work, those face-to-face interactions aren’t always possible, and the cyber criminals know that. One of the most insidious forms of cybercrime involves the impersonation of IT workers. Connect with your team virtually and discuss current protocols for how IT connects virtually with employees, and the resources they’ve put in place to ensure no one ever successfully impersonates them. Make sure you’ve reviewed and signed off on corporate policies around acceptable use of technology, and cybersecurity best practices. It’s there for the taking – but we’ve got to review and understand the rules.

Working from home can be both productive and freeing, but it also opens the door to fast-evolving cyberthreats. As cybercriminals increasingly target at-home workers, it has never been more important to ensure your behaviors aren’t exposing you and your organization to unnecessary risk. You rely on your employer for your paycheck, and the last thing you want to do is be responsible for the next ransomware attack.

The post Ransomware and remote workers: 8 tips to stay safe first appeared on STEP Software.