How I Observe ‘Work from Home ‘– One of the Most Trending Topics on LinkedIn

I have been working from home since March 2020 soon after the pandemic broke out in India. Now, it has been close to 16 months that I am working from home, and like me many are doing the same. For me, it feels good though initially a few days were a bit challenging to adjust after a sudden shift from Office to WFH. My job area is digital marketing, which is one of main reasons I did not feel too much different when I am working from home.?

Nowadays, most things are easily managed over Skype, Zoom or through similar business communication tools. If your work profile can be handled remotely then WFH is a cool affair, although there are certain challenges that you need to take care of, which I will mention below.

One very common thing I notice these days over LinkedIn is the pros and cons of WFH that people share. Also several reports and status updates are published on this topic as its something that has never happened to this world in such a large scale.

Sharing a very interesting data below that I have come across - Better Manage Interruptions from Coworkers? - seemed quite funny reason for WFH!

Even too much polls related to this subject I see everyday. So, I thought of penning down something to join the discussion. Here, I will only share my opinion & observation keeping in mind the Managers and Team Members. Although, I am not an SME of this topic, this write up is purely based on personal experience and observation.

What should work from home mean for employees? What challenges should be addressed by managers? How can managers enhance productivity of the team? Can I trust my team member? These are some common topics on which I regularly see posts and polls.??

What Should Work from Home Mean for Employees??

As an employee, I feel WFH should be an opportunity, where I can work from my comfort zone to deliver the maximum productivity. Imagine, if you are traveling for 1-1.5 hours to reach your office, you spend 3 hours to commute which will exhaust you. So here, you are able to save that energy. WFH home also is great opportunity to maintain the work-life balance as the time which you are saving, you can spend it with your family.

Also, you have the chance to remain safe during this pandemic. I have seen many offices, which have been calling employees to work from office during the pandemic whenever there is some ease in lockdown even if the nature of their work allows them to complete the task from home. Luckily, my employer has that faith its employees, and I hope this is one reason for which we are still safe. Travelling cost & rent are some additional perks anyways that comes handy with WFH. So I think, as employees, we should be honest with our deliverables and make this a noble culture.

Why WFH is Challenging for Managers at Times?

A common hassle for managers is to optimize the productivity of the team and excel the team target set by the big boss. During the remote working atmosphere, it can be challenging at times to measure the productivity or get frequent updates. However, a daily work report is a great way to keep a track of the work performed by the team. At times, daily report don’t work especially when it involves working on longer projects. In that case alternative day team meetings and keeping a track of weekly work progress proves useful. Personally I believe in weekly progress reports, which have helped me better manage things.?

Can I Trust My Team Member?

Being in the professional field since last 12 years, I have often heard about the feeble trust between managers and the team member. Especially, during WFH, this is a frequent dilemma for managers as they cannot see what the team members are doing. Are they spending time in idle, doing something other than their assigned task during work hours or actually working? The suspicion deepens when you see a dip in productivity or team target.

Although, this is a natural phenomenon but as a manager, you should have the trust factor, and that’s the sign of a true manager. It’s true that sometimes team members do get distracted but suspicion and micromanagement doesn’t solve the purpose, and only creates differences and frustration. You need to make your team accountable for the work and ensure that they work for the goals.

This was my point of view of ‘work from home’, which may differ from you all. I will be happy to receive your comments and suggestions.?