Working from Home is a Norm

It has been witnessed that the number of people working from home (WFH) during 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  To lower the risk of spreading the virus, national governments across the world require people to WFH.  There has been a radical increase given this new situation, societies, organisations and workplaces across the world are now seeking “the new normal” including the “future of work” and the “role of the office” in which WFH is the norm.

No doubt, WFH is now even more important than before. Given this unique situation, people’s experiences of WFH during the COVID-19 pandemic, the advantages and disadvantages of working across distances and cultures have to be identified and to understand the differential impact of WFH on people’s lives.      

It has been observed that digital technologies are in demand and forced changes within the organisations, which has also generated distance work, including telework, remote work and WFH.  In the midst, we have seen time, space and/or culture constitute the distance between managers and employees. 

Whilst it is evident that several factors both positive and negative may be associated with the experiences of WFH and telework, and such factors need to be considered equal and independent. 

When working across distances or when managers are separated from employees by either time or geography, it may be difficult to safeguard employee well-being and performance.  In practice, the emphasis has been on how to take care of people’s well-being and mental health when WFH. 

There have been mixed reactions WFH.  Like control over work patterns [i.e., less time in meetings, fewer interruptions, more breaks], catching up on work and being more productive, better work-life balance and reduced commute time, atmosphere, own food and the ease of contacting people and connecting.  On the other hand, one can face hard to focus, unsure of what to do, missing food and the benefits of going to work, missing colleagues, d poor physical work conditions in the home office.

During WFH the tag line is used “I do not expose myself to the risk of getting a disease”.

Broadly, here is an overview the advantages and disadvantages of WFH.

Advantages

• Contribute to lowering the risk of spreading COVID-19.
• Work-life Balance.
• Get time to focus on my work without interruptions from other people.
• Possible to do some other work that does normally not have time to do.
• Not have to spend time in long meetings.
• Work Efficiency.
• Can take a break when he/she wants to.
• Can be close to my family and friends.
• Work Control.
• Like the atmosphere in the home better than at work.
• Eat and drink your own food.
• Have no one looking over/supervision.
• Save on the normal commute time.
• Do not expose to the risk of getting a disease.
• Chance to break my old habits and change my routines.
• Easier to get in contact with people than normal.

Disadvantages

• Home office constraints.
• Do not get to see colleagues or other people.
• Need physical equipment that is not accessible at home.
• Need data or documents that are not accessible at home to do the work.
• Find it difficult to keep focused on the work when alone.
• Don’t know what kind of work one should exactly do.
• Work uncertainties.
• Miss the food or other benefits that have at the workplace.
• The financial problem for not to be at the workplace.
• Get disturbed by other people in the home.
• Miss getting out of the home.
• Inadequate tools.
• Do not get enough exercise because of not at the workplace.
• Work from home is not as interesting as enjoyed at the workplace.
• Afraid not enough work to do from home.
• The physical conditions in the home do not afford a good working environment (adjustable table and chair, enough light, quietness, good monitor, etc.).
• Requires more effort due to abnormal routines.
• Feel tired of the computer to a greater extent than when at my workplace.
• Concerned that there are work tasks which one wants to do but cannot do from home.

It is to be found that for some people with high levels of socio-economic security could have reduced stress and increased mental health and wellbeing due to changes to education and work activities, suspension of commuting and potentially increased time with family. 

Now, most of the people are working from WFH and the post-Covid-19 offer an opportunity to rethink and maybe start creating new ways of thinking to meet the increased demand for efficiency and flexibility. 

Perceptibly, the COVID-19 pandemic has radically changed the world of work and organisations.  The new work conditions seemed to be appreciated but it has certain positive and negative.  It has been drawn out the overall distribution of people’s experiences and how the advantages and disadvantages of WFH during the early weeks of the pandemic can be grouped into.

Comparing gender, the number of children at home, age and managers versus employees in relation to these factors provided insights into the differential impact of WFH on people’s lives. This will certainly help the organisations understand where the action is most needed to safeguard both performance and well-being. Since WFH is the norm amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, it is relevant to know the people’s perception and to identify merits and demerits and investigate their importance for well-being and performance in knowledge work