Work-from-home (WFH) was unfamiliar territory for most, especially for freshers just out of B-schools and colleges. What we truly miss in a remote setup are the 3 Cs - Connect, Collaborate, and Celebrate. These are essential to building a strong culture and team spirit.
Technology certainly enables work, but when there is an opportunity for face-to-face interaction, we shouldn’t pass it up. In-person engagement brings depth, spontaneity and a sense of belonging that screens simply can't replicate.
Work from home and its perils! Well, I've been working from home these past 33 years since I left my full time NGO job and began freelance work. In earlier years, it did involve a lot of travel on work, but the days I was in town, I enjoyed the working from home, taking a nap, reading, cooking - the variety of activities involved when as a woman I WFH. The flip side is that one works a lot more and a lot longer while WFH, whereas at an office, its not so. Well, Covid was a new experience for the whole world when WFH became an accepted mode of working. I don't think we will ever totally go back to the old mode, now that people have experienced the benefits of it.
The nuances of WFH have been beautifully brought about and it's a key discussion point in many companies with most employees returning to office and issues of productivity loss being highlighted as a key factor.
Its a tough proposition for client facing and people management roles. Even in the thick of Covud we went to work with a special pass categorizing us as essential workers.
Rather than calling it WFH the terminology used nowadays is "Flexible Working" wherein it is predominantly working from office with an option of working from anywhere else as and when needed and with a clear caveat that specific days in a week are non negotiable.
Lastly there is no denying the fact that virtual meetings have reduced travel costs drastically with even day long trainings done online using platforms like Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Google Meet offering features like breakout rooms and a plethora of controls for the meeting organizer.
My first experience with WFH was way back in 2001 when I joined IBM. It was an alien concept for me and i was not a big fan. I might have used this privilege for not more than a total of 10 days in 17 years of my life in IBM till my retirement. I was of the opinion that WFH may increase the productivity but reduces innovation. Water cooler conversations are very important in a research and development setup. I always preferred walking to someone’s cabin or office when I needed something than pick up the phone. Of course, COVID brought a different dimension to this concept and also has brought this inertia in people to get back to their office even after things have become normal. I guess the hybrid mode is a good compromise, addressing both productivity and innovation.
Work-from-home (WFH) was unfamiliar territory for most, especially for freshers just out of B-schools and colleges. What we truly miss in a remote setup are the 3 Cs - Connect, Collaborate, and Celebrate. These are essential to building a strong culture and team spirit.
Technology certainly enables work, but when there is an opportunity for face-to-face interaction, we shouldn’t pass it up. In-person engagement brings depth, spontaneity and a sense of belonging that screens simply can't replicate.
Work from home and its perils! Well, I've been working from home these past 33 years since I left my full time NGO job and began freelance work. In earlier years, it did involve a lot of travel on work, but the days I was in town, I enjoyed the working from home, taking a nap, reading, cooking - the variety of activities involved when as a woman I WFH. The flip side is that one works a lot more and a lot longer while WFH, whereas at an office, its not so. Well, Covid was a new experience for the whole world when WFH became an accepted mode of working. I don't think we will ever totally go back to the old mode, now that people have experienced the benefits of it.
Well said Lakshmi. WFH is here to stay but not totally as you rightly point out.
The nuances of WFH have been beautifully brought about and it's a key discussion point in many companies with most employees returning to office and issues of productivity loss being highlighted as a key factor.
Its a tough proposition for client facing and people management roles. Even in the thick of Covud we went to work with a special pass categorizing us as essential workers.
Rather than calling it WFH the terminology used nowadays is "Flexible Working" wherein it is predominantly working from office with an option of working from anywhere else as and when needed and with a clear caveat that specific days in a week are non negotiable.
Lastly there is no denying the fact that virtual meetings have reduced travel costs drastically with even day long trainings done online using platforms like Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Google Meet offering features like breakout rooms and a plethora of controls for the meeting organizer.
You have very ably supplemented my views. Thank you¡
My first experience with WFH was way back in 2001 when I joined IBM. It was an alien concept for me and i was not a big fan. I might have used this privilege for not more than a total of 10 days in 17 years of my life in IBM till my retirement. I was of the opinion that WFH may increase the productivity but reduces innovation. Water cooler conversations are very important in a research and development setup. I always preferred walking to someone’s cabin or office when I needed something than pick up the phone. Of course, COVID brought a different dimension to this concept and also has brought this inertia in people to get back to their office even after things have become normal. I guess the hybrid mode is a good compromise, addressing both productivity and innovation.
Excellent observations. Thank you for sharing your experience with WFH