In the sight of the current pandemic, there is no doubt that the world has changed in ways we would never have imagined. Other than the obvious lockdown, there are several other changes that we have had to adapt to go on with our lives in this crisis. Working from home has been a drastic shift in the working sector. Many have lost their jobs in these times. Thus, working from home is a huge blessing, if anything.
However, it is definitely a big change from what people have been used to for years now. So, how to work from home efficiently? Working from the comfort of our homes might seem like an idea too good to be true at first, and it is. Even though it might seem like a dream to be able to earn a living staying at home, as time has passed, people have had their bits of frustration with it.
The Work From Home Phenomenon
Fortunately for us, technology has taken over most work sectors where computers are being used on a daily basis. For these workplaces, it has been possible for the office work to be carried out from computers at home, which has given rise to a wave of the work from home phenomenon. In a broader sense, Work from home can also be rightly called Office at home.
Technology has allowed offices to create virtual workspaces and communicate with their teams even when it is not possible for them to go to the office. Video conferencing is being extensively used to schedule meetings and conferences so all team members can interact with remaining on the same page. Online communication applications are really carrying a big load to make work from home possible. Even sectors where documentation was done manually or handwritten have long shifted to a computer-based working environment, which is why working from home on their computers doesn’t require any new training. They essentially need to do the same work just at home.
Although there are other sectors where a computer-based environment isn’t used typically, it has proven to be an essential coping mechanism in the current times. This includes online lectures and classes which allow course work to be carried out by teachers at home through video conferencing. With a combination of scenarios, work from home is still the thread that is holding things together and will continue to do so for an undetermined period of time—there several pros and cons to that this current scenario brings to the table.
Benefits of Working From Home
- There are more than a few benefits of working from home, the first and most obvious one being the time you save in commutation. Especially those living in the bigger metro cities can sometimes end up spending hours commuting to and from work. A work from a home office doesn’t need you to block out those hours for travel, which is a big plus. People are finally able to invest more time in actually working and doing other things.
- Another merit can be seen in the form of a more comfortable working environment. A substantial effort is put in dressing right for work and working “presentably” in the office. The work from home model completely strips off these formalities. You can attend your meetings in Pajamas and go back to working on your couch, which is one aspect no one is complaining about.
- A significant benefit of working from home can be seen in the form of some much-needed downtime. With no time being consumed in looking right and going to the office on time, people can now invest their time to get back to doing things that they enjoy. This not only helps them to have a refreshed mindset but also to pick up on some cherished hobbies that were left out due to their busy schedules.
Benefits of Working From Office
- Despite the convenience that working from home offers, there are definitely some drawbacks to the current scenario. To begin with, the idea of having a routine has been severely impacted by this model. The usual compartmentalization of time is not something that people are able to follow constantly staying at home. This is something that the office model brings about naturally.
- There are more frequent interruptions while working at home, which wouldn’t happen in an office environment. For instance, with no schedule in line, one might need to get up from work to prepare lunch or even cater to the needs of other family members that they are locked down with. Distractions from such interactions staying at home can definitely be avoided in an office working model.
- In the end, humans are social creatures. There is a lot of evident frustration that builds up from being locked in the same space without any change of scene. Despite the strict working schedule, talking to colleagues, and frequent interactions in the workplace helps to refresh the mind, which is much needed for increased productivity.
Work From Home + Office Working: THE BEST OF THE TWO
Even though, after months in lockdown, we cannot wait to get back to our normal lives, one can’t deny that some perks from this period can be useful if they are carried forward. Irrespective of the convenience factor, we might have to resort to a middle ground – a hybrid working model, when the lockdown is ceased since things will not get back to normal all of a sudden. The transition period may offer a chance to explore the perks of both – the work from home and office working systems and we might end up retaining the features that are the best from the two!
Offices that are not pressed for the need to resume to physically going back to work can initially adopt a combination of work from home and office working. A combination of the best features from the two models can be used to create a hybrid working model that could be even more productive than each of them independently. There are several advantages that this hybrid working model brings to the table. With an increase in the use of technology, this isolation period has had the masses become more familiar with the use of tools like Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, Webex, and many others that were not being utilized before the pandemic. These communication tools can continue to be used post-pandemic to enhance the communication and interaction between team members.
There are several productivity tools which have come to our rescue in the lockdown. Professionals have truly discovered the benefit of productivity tools like Trello, Slack, Clickup, Asana, and several others that have kept team members working relentlessly even remotely. These factors present significant merit when we have taken into consideration the limitations posed by the central and state governments. There are clear restrictions on the use of office spaces in the near future, wherein only 33% percent of the workforce is allowed to function in the current scenario. This number might go up to even 50%, leaving a mixed circumstance for where a combination of working from home and office might need to be adopted. The hybrid working model can be perfect for such a scenario.
DevX’s Work From Home Membership Plan provides the perfect solution to combine the best of both work models. The Work From Home Plan comes with a list of benefits that include a Work Pod – a private workspace for the individuals while working from their bustling homes, along with high speed internet connectivity. 3 days a week access to any DevX Workspace across India, enabling you to conduct meetings, conferences, interviews, etc. like the good old times, is one of the prime features of the plan.
Another benefit of the Work From Home Plan is the access to DevX Collab, an indigenous technology developed by DevX that includes a number of productivity & work management tools, helping individuals stay connected with their teams. The model also includes an insurance plan against COVID-19. Offices can use the merits of the convenience and disciple that this hybrid approach brings to boost their productively while also undertaking a practical approach where stress is reduced, and healthy work pressure prevails.
Post-Pandemic Work Culture
There is no reason why these benefits of remote working should not be harnessed even after the pandemic. It has clearly been observed that working at home can prove to be more productive and offers more hours of concentrated work. This benefit can be well-utilized in case of an urgent deadline where professionals need to work on long stretches. These can be times when we could go back to working in Pajamas and doing the best to get the work done. More working spaces can provide an option of working from home for individuals who cannot make it to the office on some days and help them in remotely working from home and boost their productivity. This will not only help to keep them in the loop but also prove to be a more productive strategy in the longer run.
In case of emergencies and deadlines, video conferencing can be used more often to update the team at once rather than spending more time to organize meetings. Online collaboration can be a great way of more effective and frequent brainstorming to get more ideas on the table that the traditional round table meetings allow.
Thus, we can safely say that a perfect balance of the two methods can be the best way to combat the way the world has changed. In the coming transition phase, one might still need to practice social distancing even while working in the office spaces. Harnessing the observed benefits of work from home can be helpful while still enforcing the discipline of the office working method. We can only wait to find out how fruitfully the two can be used in the near future to harbour a productive and healthy working environment successfully!
