Work From Home is highly overrated!

So how is Work From Home working out for you?

I have asked this question to many colleagues, friends and family members. Invariably the answer is Great, Awesome, Wonderful or a similar adjective.

As I probe further asking details on how has it impacted productivity, innovation, business development, networking and work-life balance, most of them had a very different answer. They expressed demotivation, unease and discomfort with the forced clamping of life and lifestyle.

I found these contradictory responses strange and perturbing. It seems that our by-default response to life during WFH and Lockdown is positive even though it’s impact are not so positive.

This took me to another question, what does the global research have to say on Productivity and Quality of Life for WFH. Surprisingly most of the studies say that Productivity has increased.

It seems self contradictory that people are more productive and they are also more anxious, depressed and unhappy at the same time.

On 24 March 2020, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji ordered a nationwide lockdown for 21 days, it was ordered after a 14-hour voluntary public curfew on 22 March. Life has not been same since then!

Many people known to me had salary cuts (which is understandable), many lost jobs (terrible, yet understandable), everyone had a sudden change in lifestyle, unable to meet family members or loved ones in person (nothing can compensate this), too much time on screen (either work, entertainment or both) and of course a lot of family time while working at home including housekeeping chores that may have otherwise been done by support staff (cooking, cleaning, sweeping etc). Yet multiple studies said Productivity has increased and more people would like to continue to work from home.

I find myself questioning if we are overestimating benefits of Work From Home and measuring only the quantitative aspects of our work life. Thankfully I did find few studies that have spoken about the impact of lockdown and WFH on mental health:

Another study in UK found that 76% people felt a negative impact on their mental health.

While increase in Productivity is great, it is time organizations also focus on Mental Wellbeing of employees and their families and try and find solutions to more unspoken challenges like Depression, Loneliness and Anxiety.

Loneliness has consistently been selected as a top struggle by people WFH in many reports, it is not just because of WFH but a larger reflection of our current societal norms which has grown disproportionately during the lockdown. In the U.S., loneliness has been labeled an epidemic. In the U.K., almost one-fifth of the population has reported that they are “always or often lonely.”

Growth of any organization is directly liked with the growth of its team. If the team members are stressed out so often, this will have a long term impact on the productivity, innovation, business development, networking and work-life balance of employees.

We need to start talking about and taking steps to improving about Mental Wellbeing. The the impact of lockdown, the inevitable contraction in GDP (which will impact the economy) will have long lasting consequences on our lives. We need to de-glamorize Work From Home as gift full of virtues. WFH is a short-term step, a necessity considering the medical impact of Covid 19 Virus Pandemic. We should prioritize Positivity over Productivity!

About me:

My writings are based on my learnings over last 2+ decades. Happy to exchange ideas and thoughts. I write mostly about subjects related to my work but sometimes just-like-that as well. I can be reached at @AdarshNigam on Twitter or LinkedIn

#WFH #WorkFromHome #Covid #Corona #Lockdown #Productivity #MentalHealth #Mindfulness #Suicide #Depression #Leadership