How People and Companies Feel About Working Remotely
The global pandemic of Novel Coronavirus has completely changed the way the world operates. Gone are the days when early mornings were marred with the rush of daily commuters to offices, schools, colleges and workstations. The world has been redesigned and the definitions of work management, remodeled.
While the concept of work-from-home is not altogether new and had been gaining momentum past few years, the onset of Coronavirus has hastened the process of establishing it as the new normal. Almost all offices that can adopt to it, have already adapted to the system of work-from-home, where employees are comfortably settled in their nests and working at their leisure and convenience. Even education systems have been overhauled and students are now learning from the comforts of their homes.
While all things have their ups and downs, the benefits and disadvantages of the work-from-home atmospheres are yet to be assessed and realized. With the need to physically be inside the office vanishing, the entire workforce is going global, where physical boundaries no longer exist for the companies and their employees.
Why 97% of Global Workforce wants to Work-from-home
It is undeniable that time, if used efficiently, can actually enhance the work efficiency and output of the employees. The time and energy people spent on commuting, can now be saved and hence utilized in other more productive works.
What earlier used to be a mad rush for getting things done and reaching office in time, has now become leisurely, not only affecting the employees’ physical health, but also improving their overall emotional and psychological base as well. For working parents, the usual guilt trips for not being able to give time to their kids is now long gone, providing the parents as well as the children a safe environment to grow up together, while not neglecting their work or profession.
Some of the other more minor, but sure advantages of working remotely are curbing the expenditure on unnecessary official trousseau, eating outside, official parties etc. Further, couples are spending more time together, helping each other on their respective projects and even understanding what is going on in the professional lives of their partners better. This has helped in improving their mental well-being. Flexible timings, deadlines etc all help improve the employee output as well.
It would not be wrong to say that not only are the employees feeling happy about working remotely, but even the employers are feeling relieved. For one, the rental charges of the offices are considerably reduced, if all employees can function remotely. This saves the company a lot of revenue. Secondly, the maintenance of the premises also includes a huge share of expense. With the premises gone, this extra expense is also saved. With a huge saving in company’s pocket, even as the services are continually provided to the clients via online processes, the employers also are in a win-win situation.
Why working remotely may not be as tempting as it appears
As advantageous as it may sound, the prospect of working remotely also has its own share of disadvantages and disappointments. The first amongst the rest is the added responsibilities that the employees have to deal with. With regular office, the employees did not have to worry about the daily household chores or the kids. However, with everyone staying at home and the household help missing, people are under added pressure to take care of needs other than that of offices.
Multi-tasking is the new game rule, where employees have to juggle the household chores along with the office work. The task is even more challenging for those with kids. With the kids staying indoors all the time, it is a humungous task for the parents to keep the kids occupied and away from their (parents’) work-stations. Distraction, therefore, makes for the biggest hurdle for employees working from home.
Working remotely is also challenging for those who do not have a reliable network. The entire basis of work-from-home underlies a good network that can take the load of one’s programs and dada usage. Without this, the entire system of working remotely crumbles. Not every person involved in the industry, though, has access to these, thereby, posing a challenge of including every person involved in a project.
Further, working remotely has resulted in a lot of people travelling back to their native places. This has resulted in a lot of time lags and difficulty to collaborate and communicate efficiently. The process has now become more time-taking keeping in view of these difficulties.
Another disadvantage that involves work-from-home is the psychological impact it is having on people. For once, where office used to be the meeting point of all colleagues turned friends, people are now sitting back in their respective homes, thereby feeling lonely and demotivated. Thus, the work efficiency might be impacted for people working remotely. Furthermore, the communication between the employees and colleagues gets hampered with the work-from-home scenario. Issues that are easier to discuss when face to face, become more difficult to handle in a remote environment.
Finally…
Everything new that the world gets always has a few pluses and minuses. With the COVID-19 situation still going strong all around the world, the lockdowns and working remotely are here to stay. As the world tries to keep up with the changing world scenario, make the most of what you have, adapt to the changing times and keep giving your best.
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