Since the last few months, we have all been working from home. We have been forced to change the way we work. A simple walk to the next cubicle to talk about something simple has turned into an hour long phone call because we are all trying to work together the way, we had been working pre- Covid era.
Change is the only thing that is constant and the Pandemic has taught this to us.
Working from Home has also got its own set of challenges and as a Human Resources professional it is important that we understand our problems and also help and resolve other’s challenges in working from home. Working from home has been beneficial for the employees and the Company, as the Corporates have been able to reduce a lot of over head expenses.
So what happens if Work From Home becomes the future.
1. A lot of job profiles mostly people who are peon, office boys, cleaners will be jobless as most employees would be working from home, their assistance won’t be required. That will increase unemployment in the lower section of the society.
2. Corporates could save a lot on Rent as huge properties would not be required only a small Office with a few cubicles and a couple of conference rooms to meet the clients.
3. Employees would be more efficient and productive because travelling in Metro Cities takes up a lot of time, energy, health and efficiency of the Employees.
4. The Employees could also save a lot of money on Travel, Health, Clothing, Grooming, Food. As Employees would work from Home a lot of people would slowly be used to eating Home Cooked Food, which means better health than the junk food.
5. The reduction in the long smoking breaks and coffee breaks means the Projects would be completed within the deadline.
6. The less number of Employees coming to work means less cars on the road, lesser public transport. It means we can also contribute towards the society.
The Cons of Working from Home.
1. At present we do not have any Labour laws specifically stating the number of hours an employee needs to work.
2. Moonlighting by employees may be a common factor and it is very difficult to get hold of the same.
3. Not everyone has the peaceful infrastructure to work from home. In cities like Mumbai, space is a luxury, and not necessarily everyone has an independent dedicated space to Work from Home. The Internet Services that we have for our houses, are very slow compared to those that we have in our office premises.
4. The most important is Data Privacy. Though IT Sector is the one sector, which can shift working from home easily. Data Privacy of clients, is the biggest concern. When Employees work in an office, it is easy to keep a watch on them but when they are outside the premises it is very difficult to keep a track on their activities.
5. It may be difficult for a lot of women, because our society is still not ready to understand that when a woman works in an organisation, she is required to give the same amount of time and energy as her male collegue. Constant demanding women to cater the needs of the family may demotivate a lot of women to resign.
Every change has its own pros and cons, it is upon us on how we deal with it. At present it looks like atleast for a few months down the line work from home would be practiced. As a human being it will take us sometime to get well acquainted with this new practice.
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