Oopsss !! The lights just went out…

We have really come a long way through the pandemic - and while we mourn the loss of near and dear ones, we also celebrate the resilience that humanity has shown to bounce back.

One key aspect of the professional world has been how the work environment has changed.

Lets come straight to the point. This article may ruffle a few feathers – and is not my intention to do so deliberately … but it is important to look at a few key issues plaguing the workplace.

WORK FROM HOME in the IT sector - has been a life saver for a lot of businesses and the flipside of the pandemic has been that there are a lot of new ways of working that have come to the forefront which were never thought of or considered as being viable before.

But like anything in life, everything has multiple facets and which have their own value, importance, and relevance!

While Work From Home has provided a respite - is it the new norm - or should it be the new norm?

I myself have worked for long in both modes (from Office - and from Home )- even before the pandemic - so Work From Home (WFH) for me was not new. Having experienced the - so - called - chilled - approach - to - work, I quickly realised that I am never away from work !!

WFH brings its own pitfalls

• Work day starts the moment you wake up in the morning and look at your phone. (Instant End to Work-Life-Balance)
• Loss of efficiency - Having worked in both modes - I have absolutely no doubt what-so-ever in firmly saying that Working from Office is a lot more efficient than Working from Home.
• Working closely in a team sitting side by side - cannot be replaced by new team members
• For the young generation - imagine how many opportunities of creating new office crushes you are missing … :-)
• Lack of team interaction - going for a bite/lunch/coffee with the colleague - sharing your worries / planning for a weekend out together in a group - is all a thing that is only available on Insta.

?I am a big fan of objective comparisons - so here is my attempt at some key points

?Work-Life Balance

• Work from Office

1. While all of us have to spend endless evenings at times to meet deadlines, once you are away from work, you have the power to shut off - physically and mentally
2. You can FOCUS on the things that you enjoy - develop a hobby outside of work - something that will give you immense sense of self satisfaction and achievement in the long run.

• Work From Home

1. Work day starts the moment you wake up in the morning and look at your phone. (Instant End to Work-Life-Balance)
2. Continuous interruptions at home can impact a workday
3. You are NEVER away from work! - even if you sneak out to do your fav thing

Efficiency

• Work from Office

1. Walking over to your colleague / boss to explain a problem on the whiteboard and ideating something is priceless!!
2. Having a laugh during the process energises the team to do better.

• Work From Home

1. Having worked in both modes - I have absolutely no doubt what-so-ever in firmly saying that Working from Office is a lot more efficient than Working from Home.
2. The effectiveness of working closely in a team sitting side by side - cannot be replaced by new team members working remotely and trying to gel in.
3. The joy of solving some impossible problems while working in a team in close proximity - just cannot be replaced by remote working

Meeting Effectiveness

• Work From Office

1. Calling for a standup meeting by just - literally standing up is far more effective than setting up a Teams meeting.

• Work From Home

1. Once the never-ending saga of communication woes, people trickling into the meetings in their own sweet time, the next episode of lack of clear communication begins - ( with background noises, pets tricking in)
2. Screen sharing does not work atleast 30% of the time for all - depending upon the tools and the level of subscriptions that organisations have - thereby leading to teams spending more time to point out specifics.

Travel

• Work From Office

1. Travel to Office can be time consuming depending upon where one stays - and this is exactly where a balance needs to be identified.

• Work From Home

1. Jump from bed to work in a split second - Good or bad from a long term perspective??

Social Opportunities

• Work From Office

1. ??I can recollect so many couples who have -got-together in office. Finding Love - in office - has been a very common thing
2. Just meeting new people / more people is so much fun - and gives rise to so many more opportunities?to find lasting bonds

• Work From Home

1. For the young generation - imagine how many opportunities of creating new office crushes you are missing … :-). Sitting in one's pyjamas / shorts / undies at home is definitely reducing the probability of finding love.
2. Lack of team interaction - going for a bite/lunch/coffee with the colleague - sharing your worries / planning for a weekend out together in a group - is invaluable.
3. No cricket matches within team members on the weekend - and a cricket/football league in the office and across teams is just non-existent
4. No opportunity for the loud banter in office during?IPL.
5. Where are the conversations - Making friends and discussing the latest financial trends in the market, banter on the latest political happenings in the state an country - where are these conversations
6. Frog in the well syndrome - Lack of exposure to what advances colleagues are doing and lack of understanding of industry advances.

Career Experience and progression

1. Individuals working together draw inspiration from each other - and push themselves to get better
2. Frog in the well syndrome - Lack of exposure to what advances colleagues are doing and lack of understanding of industry advances.
3. Limited exposure to what the world is doing - and thereby getting inspired by what is actually needed to further one's own career.
4. Joint discussions with like minded people can be the foundation of great Startups of the future.

?In our recent attempts to recruit new team members, we have come across multiple times when the first question that is asked - is it work from Home ???? One can understand that someone may ask this for the perceived convenience - but some Candidates are reluctant to come to office for an Interview !! Seriously?? - people with such and attitude to work better stay away from professional circles..

?Imagine man reaching the moon using a WFH model and sharing space shuttle designs on teams…We would have possibly celebrated the first landing on moon just last year… or … may be we would still be discussing the final landing stages.

While what @Elon Musk said to all employees about working from home might have been a tad bit too strong (my opinion)- one has to think why did he have to say that.

Attendance to online meetings is always a struggle - Most ridiculous excuses that we have come across (in no order of preference :-)):

• The lights just went out
• The internet is not working (but they have the connectivity to message saying that Internet is not working :-) :-) )
• Someone else is using the laptop (office laptop !! Seriously ??)
• Shopping for engagement - spanning for more than 4 weeks ??? Followed by continued non-attendance needed for clothes shopping !! We really wondered in the office if this is going to top all the celebrity marriages on social media!
• What can be achieved in a 5 min discussion between the tester and the developer - as an example - where the tester may show a bug to the developer - and the developer simply responds by one of the following

- That’s a known issue

- Oh - I need to look into that

- You need to execute the test in a different way..

Is now replaced by a day long exchange - where the team does not necessarily be online at the same time - and messages are not read, and online meetings are scheduled only to find that the required people are not around for resolution.

?BUT - as I have said at the start - all is not lost in WFH. It gives you great power - and as the wise men have said - with great power - comes great responsibility.

?Work from Home is effective when:

• People have the maturity to be aligned with a common goal. This goal should be aligned with the organisation and the customer needs.?
• It is used as a tool to support people and overcome exingencies - and not as a norm.
• The team has already spent enough time working in close proximity to understand each other and the project objectives. Every team member needs to be in sync with the final goal.
• It is enforced in a manner where Work from home means - in stead of sitting in office, you are located at home - i.e. you need to be available - whether the individual is needed for a specific meeting or not.
• Logistical issues are creating efficiency issues.

Completely aware that this is a delicate topic - and while I am ready to look at the other side of the coin, unfortunately - have not had a compelling argument from the proponents of WFH as a Norm and full change to this way of working. I am seriously ready to take up a challenge and learn the new way of working from home and teach myself how the current "norm" is more effective to reach goals - provided someone can put their money on the table as well … bets anyone ?? :-)