Will remote working contribute to further social isolation?

Since the start of the pandemic, we have witnessed numerous changes in the workplace as we strive to survive and keep the cogs of business running. This has led to many innovations and creative ideas that will continue to be implemented beyond the pandemic.

The most significant seismic shift was, of course, working from home when possible for employees. Certain companies have now said that they will give employees the choice of working 50% of the week remotely and the other time in the office. A few giant corporations such as Facebook, Twitter and Square have gone even further and said that employees can permanently work remotely. What social impact would working remotely permanently have? Let’s examine the pros and cons…

Before I begin, we need to remember that we are still in the grips of a deadly pandemic. Working remote is, in some cases, a directive from a government or a personal choice from individuals with significant health concerns. This discussion is looking towards the post-pandemic future ahead.

Employers

The attraction for businesses is evident in a new world where cost saving is everything. Allowing employees to work removes the need to rent grand office spaces and reduces overheads such as electricity and heating/air conditioning, heck they can even save on providing cups of tea! Publicly listed companies can boast to shareholders about significant cost savings and increased profits.

I would imagine fewer people will be calling in sick on a Monday morning after a heavy weekend whilst working remotely, which in theory increases the number of hours worked and boosts productivity. Studies have shown that employees tend to be more productive at home as they are more comfortable in their surroundings, have fewer distractions, and even start working earlier without the travel time.

Remote working is only suitable for certain professions of course and these are typically office-based roles. For roles using specialist equipment or dealing with customers in person then this is not applicable. Other disadvantages for employers include less opportunity to build a team spirit, which can increase overall performance. Of course, supervision, in general, is compromised and?Managers are trusting their staff to perform. Depending on the type of work, this might not be a great issue. The proof is in the pudding, if the work is being done you can see this. However, in a sales role for example it can be less clear if the correct effort and attitude are applied. Data tracking and management, where possible, will become essential to measure individual and team performances.

It’s also a lot harder to monitor your team member’s performance and know if they have a suitable working environment at home. Some workers will live in a smaller apartment and may have other family members and other distractions affecting performance. Trying to implement a new strategy, way of working or even company culture is also greatly hindered by only being only able to communicate through Video meetings.

Employees

For employees the ability to work remotely and in some cases pick the hours they complete the work is a dream. I have met several people on the golf courses in Dubai who have come from another country and are squeezing in 18 holes around their remote work during the day. The great appeal is that you can base yourself anywhere globally and work for organisations wherever, and become location independent.

Whilst employers save on costs, employees do too. Money can now be saved on transport, car maintenance, parking, nice work clothes, going out for lunch…what’s not to like there. Also, working remotely has removed the stress of things like the daily commute and the actual job stress. (don’t forget that utility bills go up, as well as grocery payments due to increased utilisation and consumption, where employees save on this, employees pay the bill instead).

Opposing points of working from home include an increase in your heating/air-conditioning and electric bills.

Whilst there are health benefits from a stress point of view, there are health disadvantages of working from home. You might spend some days where you never leave the house at all and with the daily commute to an office, even if you drive or take a bus or train you are moving less and burning fewer calories. The likelihood of you gaining weight does increase unless you are disciplined and make sure you leave the house for a walk or some form of exercise and mental health can be affected by lack of exercise and social interactions in person.

Being based from home means creating your own workspace and making yourself comfortable with the setup. There tend to be fewer interruptions to your day, and you won’t lose hours debating your fantasy football team with colleagues.??

Team spirit will be significantly reduced if people are never spending any time together in person and there are less likely to be social events or a drink down the pub after work. Team bonding can often be overlooked, but it should not be understated as all teams perform better when they feel like they are “all in it together”. Working from home can affect personal relationships with the family you live with as it’s harder to separate work life from home if you are in the same place. Instead of enjoying the evening with the family, your mind is more likely to be distracted and think of work or even still send out emails.

Long Term Impact

Whilst there are many great benefits of working from home, my big fear is that, as a society, we are becoming more and more withdrawn from real social interactions in person. Everything these days is digital and online. Now you can go online and get your groceries, takeaway dinners, medicines, clothes, electronic items (and literally everything you can think of on Amazon). I remember back in the day, there would be me and 3 or 4 mates crammed in my room playing Goldeneye on a 10-inch telly. Now kids (and us adult gamers) will just come home and sit alone in their room playing friends online.

People can also become satisfied with their friends and relationships through communicating on WhatsApp or other direct messaging apps. Now I’m not an enemy of technology. For expats like myself, all of the apps and ways of communicating are great for me to keep in touch with family and friends back home. However, there are far fewer people getting together and working remotely is a further way of isolation, this time from peers and colleagues. Isolation has shown that people are more inclined to become depressed and during the lockdowns there has been a big rise in mental health issues.

The initial 18 months of working remotely has been met with enthusiasm and a supposed improvement in productivity. However, like most things initial enthusiasm often wanes.

Undoubtedly, many people were in fear of losing their jobs at the outset of the pandemic and were probably working harder than ever to survive. In the post pandemic world, with less job security fear, will people work with the same attitude at home unsupervised? I think there will be a natural decline.

For me, I think ideas and creativity will be massively on the decline with people working remotely. Ok, sure, there are Zoom meetings to keep the team “together” but during the rest of the day you will be missing out on new ideas, picking up good habits from the colleague sat next to you…general enthusiasm towards the job could wane.

Personally, I prefer getting out of the house and coming to work where I know I’m here to get results, learn from my colleagues, share new ideas and then when I get home from work, I can completely switch off until the next day.

What are your thoughts? I would love to hear what you guys think about remote working v working in the office and the social impact.

I’m sure there is something I will have missed...please send me your thoughts and ideas.