Work from Home, a Panacea to all problems!!! REALLY????

“Man is a Social Animal”. No offence to the upholders of Feminism, this had been written during an era where the women were not supposed to be much socialised. The ancient Greek Philosopher, “Aristotle”, was the child of his time and it had been quoted by him, NOT ME!

In the prevailed pandemic of COVID-19, where the supporters of #WFH are chest thumping in its name and treating it as the panacea for all the problems and want to extend it further even post lockdown, I would rather like to cater a Contradictory opinion.

The advocates of the #WFH are bolstering their claim by saying that, it would provide ample flexibility and freedom to the employees, reduce their commute timings and eventually leads to less pollution, an employee would be able to find an equilibrium between their personal and professional lives, can get a relief from a swift moving lives etc., but following could be the negativities that could emerge out of #WFH:

·        Dearth interaction with the co-workers, slackened bond and connection between the company’s employees

·        Isolation of employees might lead to  innovation deficit, decisions taken by an organization would be less democratic due to absence of social interaction

·        No demarcation of office hours might lead to a non-disciplinary work culture, absence of regular disciplinary feedbacks.

·        No uniform internet connectivity and mobile ranges might hamper the work like inability to download heavy files, non-reachability of the employees, audio clarity etc

·        No checks could be made on employee’s accountability and integrity, where data privacy keeps an utmost importance

·        Lack of cyber security would be there at personal wifi

·        Employee’s interactions and webinars would remain vulnerable to interruption due to joint families in the small living space, infants and young children.

·        Isolation of the employees might lead to social and psychological impacts, “China had witnessed an inclination in the divorce rates, post lockdown”.

·        It might leads to health issues due to non-availability of Office infrastructure like Official Chairs

·        Absence of Office culture and co working spaces, might create a major dent to Real Estate and Automobile Sectors (low Commutation), eventually leads to the major slowdown in the economy.

Work from Home, might be a temporary measure in the prevailed unforeseen circumstances, but should not be treated as the panacea for all the problems, because digital enthusiasm can never replicate the social enthusiasm.

As Christopher McCandless after his long expedition of living in isolation had concluded- “Happiness is only real when shared”.