"WFH" shouldn't be a new normal

The global work-from-home drive due to COVID19 that is intended to maintain output and productivity during this pandemic can backfire hampering business growth.

Recent wave of working from home for the last 8 weeks is great learning for all of us. Staff working remotely alongside their kids in unsuitable spaces and circumstances beyond their control is posing serious challenges. This is creating a productivity disaster. It may be that remote work for some companies or jobs (depends on the nature of the job) is very productive and results in cost-saving ventures but for some companies it is a productivity disaster, and they have valid reasons.

There are various but serious challenges, such as children/family, living space, privacy, choice, lack of effective communication, team structure, and learning & development. 

The most challenging aspect of WFH for parents with younger children in managing their kids. The closure of schools and “distance learning” for children has increased difficulties for working parents by taking an additional job of the full-time teacher at home. One important requirement for a successful work-from-home plan for any business is the requirement that children are in school or daycare during working hours.

The second and third challenge is space and privacy. I think employees should only be allowed to work from home if they have a home office. People working abroad do not have proper space in their premises to make it a small office. Their office room should not be a bedroom, and nobody should be allowed into the room during the workday. People using their bedrooms or shared common rooms, with noise from their partners, family, or roommates. Your working conditions/ergonomics play a key role in your daily productivity.

One of the biggest advantages of working from the office is that in-person collaboration helps in creativity and innovation. Face-to-Face meetings are essential for developing new ideas and keeping staff motivated and focused which is missing in the WFH environment hence people will start getting drained in a couple of months.

The element of personal choice is an extremely important factor contributing to the success of a work-from-home policy that is absent in the current situation. In the present time, we have forced our people pure to work from home. Despite reducing the average commute time of 45 mins each way and still people will opt to work from the office.

This is maybe due to the social company aspect of mankind.  People feel isolated, lonely, and depressed at home. So an extended period of working from home will not only kill productivity but is building a mental health crisis because people are not tuned to work from home. Like work from office or work in teams required specialized skills similar way work from home also needs a unique mindset and willingness to perform from home.

Regular meetings are a great way to keep in touch with our teams. If we want effective communication then we have to communicate directly. Due to WFH we are missing this important aspect of management and daily it takes a major portion of time to communicate with each member.

WFH has a major drawback of isolation which stops the learning & development of people to face future challenges and for the quality of the work. Organizations will not utilize the benefits of diversification and working in teams if they fully implement the WFH strategy.