The Office Inside an Office
Tinashe Moya
Talent Acquisition Consultant with HR Metrics and Staff Retention & CV Writing expertise
Before Covid19, it was unheard of for someone to say they are working from home. The school was in the lecture or classroom. Meetings were conducted in the boardroom. Graduations were done physically; people would travel thousands of kilometres for their graduation ceremony. But, everything changed overnight. We soon realized we were no longer safe at the office. The rate of infections plus the indefinite lockdowns forced businesses to replace the office with kitchen counters, lounge tables, study rooms or a corner in the house. Virtual offices became the new normal.
In a survey done in the UK, 50% of its workforce work from home at least twice a week. The survey further goes to reveal the new trend of people opting to work from home post covid19. Even in Zimbabwe, the stigma of working from home has gradually decreased. It then brings us to the following question; why develop skills for such an office?
Employers in the developing countries are now migrating to hiring virtual assistants who are a better fit for the following reasons
There are fears that employers have with regards to staff working from home
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It’s important to note that productivity is not in the workplace, an undisciplined worker can still underperform even under strict supervision. Do not blame the place, blame the hire
2. How do you quantify work done by someone at home?
Key performance indicators help manage the performance of an employee. It’s the embracing of putting targets on staff deliverables, thus location will cease to be of importance.
3. How can deadlines be met with the distractions from home?
It’s important to note working from home doesn’t mean an 8-5 job. The hours are spread in such a flexible way, best suited for the environment they are operating from. The issue isn’t on policing the hours but on the quality of work and meeting deadlines.
It’s about time employers realize it’s not always a productive time for staff working from the office. Some spend time on social media upon realizing the employer is interested in marking the register, not the value produced by the employees.
If anything, Covid19 has taught businesses that this pandemic is part of us for a while. To survive, choose the best team and operate successfully virtually.