Since the Covid pandemic, the concept of ‘working from home’ seems now a norm, but what are the short comings of working from home, and where are we heading with this in both the short and long term? Our recruitment specialist, Amol Makol takes a brief look at the good, bad and possible resolutions of working from home from an HR perspective.
The Disadvantages & Changes
Working from home comes with many disadvantages and one of the big areas it hits is communication-a major issue for remote employees. While there is nothing to prevent on-site and off-site personnel from communicating, there is a necessary barrier between management and employees that results in staggered operations. The distance and non-face-to-face environment has also seemed to have hit younger workers hard- as those who have just kick started their careers with new jobs, during this period, find it hard to connect to a company’s work culture and its people.
One of the most helpful tools to ensure employees have appropriate access to and understand work, or tasks assigned, is via emails. Smartphone applications and push alerts have proven to be quite beneficial.
We are also increasingly adopting messaging systems like ‘Slack’ for internal communication, and this technique is ideally positioned to accommodate both remote and on-site personnel, as well as, hosting the entirety of a work roster in a single forum.
Since every coin has two sides, remote working setups also come with its own drawbacks. Initially, when working remotely started, a key concern for us, at Arjun Global, was the lack of proper guidance. We made sure that our employees were properly guided through a designated system.
Our remote workers benefit from a self-time tracking software which helps us to deal with compulsive schedules and make sure we have flexible timings for everyone in the organisation.
The use of personal mobile phones for attending work related calls raises several concerns. Thus, it is important that a system is put into place whereby all employees have to take official video calls on laptops/desktops to maintain a corporate etiquette. To further ensure that formal groups are maintained it is best to utilise professional apps/mobile phones to keep work and personal life separate.
Impact
- Remote workers may find it more difficult to stay on target, and a dynamic schedule may result in irregular sleeping patterns, which can impact morale and clarity
- The absence of human interaction when working from home can be alienating -particularly those who derive the majority of their social experiences from their jobs
- While the quality of work may not have been affected much, the need of seeking instant inputs for improvising is missing since the immediate seniors or colleagues may not be available for immediate guidance.
Resolution
It is critical to speak with your employees about the issues they face, their work requirements and provide effective and reasonable solutions at the earliest opportunities.
The working remotely model clearly comes with both its own pros and cons. However, it certainly provides employees with a platform to continue with their professional transition, improve their performance while boosting their morale in these unprecedented times. Nonetheless, this mode of working may not be challenged in times to come and it is seems to be here to stay!”