With this quarantine happening, our lives and our daily routines have taken a new form and so has the office for the working people. Though some may say that it is the work that matters at the end and not the place from which it is being done but the working environment does play a very crucial role in the end result. It honestly comes down to the environment a person is most effective in. Most of the companies have started their work from home plans in which webinars, meetings and most of the other things are getting done quite effectively. But we all know with the boons of technology comes the banes as well making the entire work from home process both beneficial as well as non-beneficial. There can be several arguments regarding this subject and let’s have a look at them.
Let’s start with the advantages of working at home, you save on many hidden costs associated with going to work. These include costs of commuting, car wear and tear, fuel, road taxes, parking as well as indirect costs such as expensive professional wardrobes and the dry-cleaning of those.
Flexibility is one of the major advantages of working from home as one can adjust the environment as per his choice like, determine your environment, lighting, temperature, setting, mood; basically, work in the framework that suits you best and makes you happiest and most productive. Also, the working hours can be according to your will which gives you a whole lot of freedom to some extent.
Lesser distractions by Co-workers, unnecessary interruptions, unimportant meetings can all be avoided if you are safely at home and sealed off in your own environment which you have barricaded from any possible interruptions.
Proximity to home and family becomes a great source of motivation for some. For many, the physical proximity to family and the convenience of being at home are tremendously comforting. For parents it can be especially pacifying to know that they are very near to their children and available should they be needed for any reason.
People suffer from lesser stress of reaching office on time, facing traffic everyday and it brings change in their monotonous work life in the same office room.
With no distractions and stress, productivity increases and working independently in their own preferred environment makes people happy and positive.
Often with long commutes and anywhere from 1 to 3 hours a day spent getting to and from the workplace both physical and mental health are adversely impacted; thus, working from home helps in having better health.
There are some disadvantages that come along with this process of working from home as well. The most prominent one will be network issues which may lead to no work at all or clumsy presentations.
Working from home will mean that you get involved with the rest of the team less. There is less communication between employees which in turn, may decrease an element of teamwork amongst yourselves. It can also mean that you miss out on “everyday matters” at works, such as daily updates and possible promotions, as you become less involved.
Simple problems, such as software issues, become more difficult to fix when you’re not in the office. It is more difficult and takes longer to try and help someone over the phone than it would be in person.
The amount that you are likely to use your own telephones increases when working from home. Not being around any of your colleagues will also mean that the phones are used more often.
Though there is no distraction from the office that used to be but there could be an increased amount of distractions faced at home. Factors such as noisy neighbours, family or friends will mean that your productivity and concentration levels may drop.
Staying at home will mean that you “never leave the office”. This could mean that it becomes more difficult for you to “switch off” from the work that you produced that day. All this may increase your stress and worry levels.
Working from home takes a lot of dedication, self-control and discipline. To motivate yourself to persevere in working at home alone over the long run without succumbing to the distractions and losing drive and momentum is a tough feat. Nonetheless, with change in situations we need to change our routines as well whether they feel advantageous to us or not.
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