Unlock- “The Dawn”

The Biggest Debate In Every Corporate Board Room Today Is Whether To Encourage Employees To Work From Home Or Call Them To Office. The Efforts To Get People Back Into Offices Is Being Overpowered By Workers Who’ve Happily Embraced Remote Work As The New Normal. With The Corona Virus Pandemic Receding, Thanks To Rapid Vaccination All Across The World, The Push By Some Employers To Get People Back Into Offices Is Clashing With The Now Accepted Concept Of Remote Work. Not To Mention The Cost Effectiveness And The Ever Growing Need To Spend More Time With Family Post Pandemic Health Apprehensions.

While Companies Like Google, Coke, Ford Motor And Citigroup Have Promised Greater Flexibility, Many Chief Executives Have Publicly Extolled The Importance Of Being In Offices. There Are Some Who Have Lamented The Perils Of Remote Work, Saying It Diminishes Collaboration, Company Culture And Severely Affects Team Work And Productivity. The Efficiency Too, It Is Claimed, Is Greatly Impacted Because Of Lack Of Coordination And Absence Of In Person Engagement.  But Legions Of Employees Aren’t So Sure. If Anything, The Past Year Has Proved That Almost Everything Can Be Done From Anywhere Eliminating Lengthy Commutes On Crowded Trains Or Manoeuvring Through Traffic Jams. Some People Have Moved On While Others Have Lingering Worries About The Virus And Vaccine-Hesitant Colleagues. There Is Also A Notion That Some Organisations, Particularly With Bosses Of A Generation Less Familiar To Remote Work, Are Eager To Regain Tight Control Over Their Minions.  According To Them, Employees Not Physically Seen Working Are Not Working At All.

It’s Still Early To Say How The Post-Pandemic Work Environment Will Look. Only About 28% Of U.S. Office Workers Are Back At Their Desks, According To An Index Of 10 Metro Areas Compiled By Security Company Kastle Systems. Many Employers Are Still Being Lenient With Policies As The Virus Lingers, Vaccinations Continue To Roll Out And Childcare Situations Continue To Remain Erratic. One Can Comfortably Conclude That, “Remote Work Is Here To Stay.”

One Of The Main Benefits, Employees Feel, Is More Control Over One’s Time. The Feeling Of Doing Just Whatever One Wants While Being Around At Home, Like A Quick Chore That Didn’t Have To Wait Until Evening Or A Brisk Walk Or Other Stretching Exercises That Otherwise Take A Back Seat While In Office. Of Course, Not Everyone Has The Flexibility To Choose. For The Millions Of Frontline Workers Who Stock The Shelves Of Grocery Stores, Care For Patients In Hospitals And Nursing Homes, Or Drop Off Packages At People’s Doors, There Are Scant Or None Alternative Options To Showing Up In Person.

But Among Those Who Can, Many Are Weighing Their Alternatives. Bosses Taking A Hard Stance Beware, Particularly Given Labour Shortages In The Economy. The Feeling That Organisations May Want To Foster The Feeling That Normalcy Will Soon Be Restored, Maybe Partially Right But It’s Pretty Risky To Hope That Today.

However, Some Things Are Indeed Lost With Remote Work. Like Opportunities For Collaboration, Learning Experiences For Junior Employees, Fun Of Socialising At Office And Having That Liberated Feeling Of Enjoying Work With Your Favourite Colleagues. And Not To Mention, The High Entertainment Quotient Derived Through All The Gossip Sessions At Coffee Machine And Water Cooler Spots.

Working Inside An Office Building Really Does Restrict Time A Lot More Than One Can Think. A Lot Of People Are Afraid Of The Cycle Where You Work And Work And Work, And Then Realise That You Forgot To See Your Children Growing Up Or Enjoy Sudden Fleeting “Family Moments”. This Fear To Miss Out On The Happiness Experiences Is Opening Floodgates Of Frustrations About Return To Office.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg In A Memo To Employees Said That Working Remotely Made Him “Happier And More Productive,” The WSJ Reported. He Added, “I’ve Found That Working Remotely Has Given Me More Space For Long-Term Thinking And Helped Me To Spend More Time With My Family.” Zuckerberg Plans To Spend As Much As Half Of The Next Year Working Remotely.

Remote Working Should Be Accepted With Open Arms. Not Only Because It Keeps You Safe And Healthy But Also Ensures That You Have A Life With Your Loved Ones, Not At The End Of The Day, But All Through The Day!!