Working from home is complex

Be careful what you ask for.....you just might get it

Heard the phrase 'Be careful what you ask for'? Well, guess what.

Working from home is becoming the norm, Barclays has been talking about their Canary Wharf Head Office and how it will likely never be the same again, they have everyone at home or in satellite offices and guess what.....it appears to be working.

Point 1: It's great

Working from home is absolutely fabulous, 'if' and it's a big IF. IF you like working from home, your home has the space to work from home, your family life is conducive to working from home.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seven-Day-Weekend-Better-Work-Century/dp/0099425238

There is great freedom IF your workplace/boss/culture can factor in the fact that it's not the same thing.

Ricardo Semler many years ago wrote a book called the Seven Day Weekend, he spoke about the trust he had for his team and the fact that if they were working on a presentation on Sunday from 1-3 then why not take the kids to a movie mid-week. His point was it's not Monday to Friday 9-5 it is about getting the work done and maintaining the connection between those that need to be engaged by you and if you can do this then crack on. It makes sense but requires trust and living up to your end of the bargain.

What's great

Reduced commutes, being able to factor in nipping out to do something, being able to just be human, to be dressed normally....to finish a call then do 10 press-ups after or some stretching because you want to, when you have finished work to have no commute.....all brilliant.

A colleague of mine said:

You know that job they said could not be done from home....turns out it can

She was being humorous but also pointing out that this way of working was long overdue.

Point 2: It's NOT great

I have a friend who as the Covid 19 lockdown started and their HR department sent out an email that said 'when not on a call, the video camera should always be on and logged into a chat room so they were always available'. Not a lot of trust there.

There are other issues with working from home for some people:

• The property is small
• Other people living there, home working as well now!
• Noisy, see above
• Feels isolated if you live alone
• It can be overwhelming if your partner is in the same space as you all day and they work from home alongside you.....that could be a real deal-breaker for the workspace and a relationship.

Summary

Do you want Top Tips for working from home? Google it there's a lot.

The point is there are too many variables to say its a good thing or a bad thing. Everyone will be in their own context. The thing is that there is something we cannot say for sure and that is 'what it is'.

If businesses shift to working from home, then many will embrace it, for others, it could be a real problem.

It will be potentially:

• The elephant in the room
• A complex balancing act for business and employees

The final point

If ever there was a time for leaders to understand how to create an environment of trust then I reckon this is it. That is a two-way street, in fact, it might be a four-way street:

1. Do I trust the organisation?
2. Do I trust my line manager?
3. Do I trust my team?
4. Do I enable others to trust me?

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