In 2020, when the pandemic hit us, a dream of many employees came true: work from home.
Working from home, also known as telecommuting, did not significantly impact us in 2020. But it has changed the entire work model forever. But as we know, a change can be good or bad.
As offices are opening up, work from home has become the hottest topic of discussion in the business world, with employers and employees putting down their opinions.
For some roles and industries, Work from Home plays a small part or is not possible, like the production of cars. But business models have changed significantly in many other industries and roles in the last few months. And will keep changing in the long run.
Working from home does sound very beautiful as your office chair is your comfy bed/couch. No need to get ready or waste about 1-2 hours daily in traffic. You get to eat homemade food instead of unhealthy cafeteria food.
As beautiful as it sounds, is working from home a blessing?
LET’S LOOK AT THE BRIGHT SIDE
According to Owl Labs’ research on Remote Work (2019), some workers would be ready to sacrifice a salary increase to work remotely.
The study found that 34% of workers would be prepared to accept a 5% reduction in salary. 24% of workers would get a 10% reduction, and 20% would accept a reduction greater than 10%. The following results are not surprising.
Most employees would prefer to work remotely due to the following reasons –
1. BETTER WORK-LIFE BALANCE
Apart from the fact that you would be working in your pyjamas, working from home has a lot of benefits. It’s about the freedom that an employee enjoys.
A lot of work-from-home jobs have the option of flexible schedules. Employees can start their day and end it as and when they choose. As long as the work given is completed and it leads to strong results.
This control over your job schedule can be really helpful for taking care of your requirements. Working from home makes it simpler to juggle various responsibilities, especially for single mothers who can manage their duties more easily.
Apart from this, you can take a yoga class in the morning. You can watch your talk show while working or blast some good music, which is impossible in an office. Spend your break time with your children or significant other instead of back bitching about other employees in the office. You can even take a quick nap when they want and feel refreshed.
2. LESS TIME SPENT IN TRAVELLING
The average travel time in the United States is 27.1 minutes. Which equals to around an hour each day spent travelling to and from work.
According to the Auto Insurance Centre, employees spend around 100 hours travelling and 41 hours in traffic each year. Some “heavy” commuters must travel larger distances, up to 90 minutes each way.
Your reduced commute time from 1-2 hours to zero increases your working hours and productivity.
According to a study, one-way commuting of more than 30 minutes can increase stress and anxiety. Workers who travel more than 10 miles each day face the following health issues –
- increased cholesterol
- high blood sugar
- elevated chance of depression
You can better support your physical and mental health by quitting the commute. The time you save can let you concentrate on non-work-related activities, like getting more sleep in the morning, spending more time with family, exercising, or having a nutritious breakfast.
3. WORK FROM YOUR PLACE OF LIKING
With the work from home option, employees can work from their choice of location. Employees don’t have to relocate. Hence they save money for rent, food and many more things. Even the company gets benefitted. If a company is looking to hire new employees, they don’t have to find people in their local area, ask anyone to relocate or pay any relocation money. All the hardship faced during relocating is reduced. Employees with senior parents can stay with them.
The best part of working from home is a workcation! You can be sitting in goa and work according to your convenience. It’s a win-win situation for both – the employee and the company.
Let’s now read about why working from home is not a good option.
THE DULL SIDE OF WORK FROM HOME
1. ACCOUNTABILITY
You are truly independent. Nobody will constantly tell you to work. To use the benefit of working from home, you need to be self-motivated, self-disciplined and focused.
You should make a schedule to complete your daily task on time. It is very easy to get distracted by family members, games, television, etc.
Time management and work ethics are a few of the hardest things to maintain.
Tip – If a task is assigned to you or you are supposed to take a meeting, do not push it away to noon or evening. Do its task as soon as possible. Do not push away work and slack off.
2. NO PROPER WORKING HOURS
As companies offer flexible working hours, many employees are working, and non-working hours get blurred into one. It is the main cause of stress faced by employees who work from home.
Sometimes companies take advantage of this. They don’t keep a distinct work timing. It means they expect their employees to be present, from morning to night, which the entire day affects the employees’ mental health as there is no separation between the work day and home life as both become one.
3. YOU CAN BE ACCUSED OF SLACKING WORK
A home office is not equal to a real office. At home, your duties might increase. It might not be easy for you to respond to calls or emails immediately as you would if you were in the office. It includes those days when your internet is not working, you have network issues in your area, and your boss assumes you are trying to slack off work. People could question whether you’re working hard or just taking things easy.
Keep in mind that it is the responsibility of the person working from home to keep communicating what they are doing and what they are accomplishing.
Also read: How has technology changed the education system?
IS WFH A BLESSING OR A CURSE?
The answer to whether working from home is a blessing or a curse is very personalised. It’s not the best option for everyone but in general, working from home is a blessing as it provides many benefits that did not exist earlier. Let’s understand why working from home is a blessing and a curse for some.
Many people work efficiently from home and love working remotely. They are good at managing their time and work and are happy staying home.
On the other hand, some employees feel disconnected from work without going to the office. For example, employees whose only social contact is their colleagues. Many employees feel a creativity block when they work from home every day.
These problems can be solved if the company takes a few measures. Measures such as teams should meet regularly in person. As online workshops and meetings cannot recreate what one face-to-face meeting can. Or giving the option to the employee to either work from home or the office.
Apart from this, an issue of togetherness and team spirit is lost in a work-from-home model. It is true. The value of each employee is equal to the knowledge they have and the knowledge they can gain.
Some actual bonding and learning happen in workplaces when co-workers interact and joke around in the break room. There is a lot of information exchange. Brainstorming conversation helps the same employee to add more to the company.
It is why employers want to keep the workforce as one solid group. Who is working together to achieve a defined goal?
WHAT DO EMPLOYERS HAVE TO SAY?
In 2013, Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo, banned work from home for the same reason. She sent this memo to all Yahoo employees,
“We need to be one, Yahoo! ” starts with physically being together. Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home.
Marissa Mayer was an ex- google employee, and probably that’s where she learned this. Google CFO Patrick Pichette explained in an interview why google was against teleworking. He said,
“There is something magical about sharing meals. There is something magical about spending time together, noodling on ideas, and asking, “What do you think of this?”
CONCLUSION
It may not be this magical, but the truth is teleworking is not the best work model. Many issues are faced in remote learning, brainstorming ideas, sharing knowledge and mainly bonding with teammates. Companies can choose hybrid work to solve this problem instead of removing WFH.