WORK FROM HOME

 

From Sampath’s Desk:

 

WORK FROM HOME

 

None would have even imagined or dreamt how effective the ‘work from home’ concept could be with a tremendous positive impact in efficiently fighting a pandemic like COVID-19. It has spread its positive wings in this hour of health crisis. In normal times, however, it may be a mixed bag.

 

Here is an analysis of the plusses and minuses of the arrangement.  My neighbour, a young techie, is employed far away from the place where we live in Chennai. That he mostly stayed at home flummoxed me at the first instance. When questioned pat came the reply, “Uncle, it is work-from-home or telecommuting”, a term unknown to senior citizens like me. Staying at office after working hours and/or attending office on holidays to clear pending works was the norm for us those days. Computer-enabled ‘teleworking’ is now a new norm, thanks to the advent of the Digital and Internet era with a mind-boggling speedy communication network shrinking the whole world into a virtual ‘global village’. One morning, he invited me for a cup of coffee over which there was an interesting brain-storming session.

 

Said he, “Wanna work from home, the best option for me! These days more people prefer it. I’m one among them. If you're cooped up in a corporate office, frustrated by commuting, annoyance by interrupting co-workers, and the lackluster and uninspiring lunch options, then the allure of working at home may sound like a dream to you. Moreover, we have many communication options to stay connected with those who mattered for office work. In home-working, I can rule my time including convenient scheduling amidst home comforts with kith and kin around.”

 

Since IT company/MNC transactions are mostly with foreign based clients, it involves odd timings including midnight stay/night shifts with attendant hassles in a ‘work only at office’ environment. Though most companies do provide transport for employees, by the time one commuted from home to workplace and back, it leaves the worker fatigued and exhausted due to time-consuming, grueling and backbreaking travel. To obviate discomfiture and vexation, companies prudently allow ‘remote working’ also for their personnel; justifiably so. Stress levels on account of unfriendly co-workers, suboptimal work environment, frequent disruptions, typical hassles while working at office, etc. can well be avoided in telecommuting. Relief from lassitude in time-consuming physical commuting enables one deliver increased output, stay fit and happy working in a ‘flexible workplace’, proximity to family providing the pep and enabling a good ‘work-life balancing’!

 

For my question, “Don’t you then miss the wood for the trees”, there was an emphatic ‘no’ from him! Said he, “The most significant positive aspect in ‘teleworking’ is ‘you are your own boss’. In office, there will be interruptions and disruptions. You may be summoned for urgent meetings or discussions consuming my precious time for, most of the times, nothing, or, regarding matters with which I may not be concerned at all.”

 

However he remarked, “Work from home is not an altogether unmixed blessing and is rather a mixed bag; isolation from mainstream too. In absence of group and concerted actions and useful personal interactions possible in office facilitating problem-solving then and there, you may tend to be less creative and resourceful.  Telephonic interaction for clarification or help from office - like superiors, subordinates, experts, friends and/or others - is not a comfortable substitute for face-to-face interactions possible while in office. You also miss personal contacts with attendant advantages that go with ‘work-at-office’ like exchange of pleasantries including cutting jokes, pleasurable rendezvous and chitchats at tea and lunch breaks, relaxation in recreation club, socializing, and other friendly interactions with other workers.”

                      

However, he was visibly worried for being at home for days together for office work, as sometimes it tends to delay or postpone work, drawing flaks and brickbats from a single boss or multi-bosses. Since there is no immediate physical supervision of your work, you may either under-perform or over-perform. Superiors may not be able to do proper assessment of your personality, inter-personal relationship with others, and right evaluation of your work performance for career progression. For, you mostly remain invisible. Needless to say, sometimes ‘seeing is only believing’ and ‘out-of-sight is out-of-mind’.

 

Prolonged detachment from office could create a vacuum and prevent you from keeping abreast of key developments like company’s future plans and new initiatives. You may miss a world of human interactions, teamwork and team-spirit. You may not be able to naturally cheer yourself up in the physical company of others, which is hard when you are alone and away from office at home.

 

Of course, all jobs may not suit ‘home-working’.

 

In a nutshell, one can opt for ‘work-from-home’ as an exception rather than rule. Otherwise, it may lead to self-imposed reclusion. However, need-based telecommuting may perhaps be the best option. Then it may be more a boon than bane! With all said and done, the best arrangement is one that keeps you stay happy, healthy, peaceful and at the same time more productive!

 

 

R.SAMPATH

3/4/2020