Work from Home Pros and Cons

Work from Home Pros and Cons

The current COVID-19 pandemic has forced organizations and companies all over the globe to shift their work method to Work from Home (WFH), and it is no surprise that remote working comes with its own advantages and disadvantages.

Work from Home has multiple advantages. The most common are -

No Health Scares:

• With Work from Office, the most prominent concern for people was unknowingly getting infected by the virus and then passing it on to near and dear ones.
• With the shift to remote working, this concern was void because employees were working from the safety of their own homes.

Employee Loyalty and Productivity:

• The step taken by organizations to make it mandatory for employees to work remotely passed along the message that the company cared about the well being of its employees, which led to an increase in employee satisfaction and loyalty.
• As employees began working from the comfort of their homes, with the reassurance that they are safe from the virus, this comfort and reassurance are positively reflected in their productivity.

Time-Saving:

• The time taken to usually commute between work to home, and then vice versa is freed up, allowing more time for rest or other activities.
• The work schedule becomes flexible, leading to comparatively less work-related stress.

Every coin has two sides. Similarly, Work from Home has its disadvantages as well -

Lack of Interpersonal Connections:

• When employees are working remotely, it becomes difficult for them to interact with each other on a personal level. Virtually meeting is not the same. As a result, interpersonal relationships suffer.
• Communication amongst the employees and management tends to get complicated, and the increased amounts of virtual meetings and emails do not help the case.

Less Activity:

• Most of the work that needs to be done from home is limited to laptop screens, and this involves sitting for long periods of time with no other additional activity.
• Backaches from sitting in one posture for too long and negative impacts on the eyes from staring at screens for a long time are common issues.

Work-Life Balance:

• With remote working, the personal and professional spaces merge into one, and the boundary between work and leisure seems to cease. Overworking is the most worrisome byproduct of working from home.
• This also impacts the peace of mind of employees, and they do not get enough time to themselves in order to refresh.