‘Work from Home’ (WFH) or Remote Working has been prevalent within the freelancing community and among few organizations for years. But what is about to happen now in this sector is a revolution. 50-60% of activities carried out in the IT sector and other online services sectors along with several other divisions like Pharmacy, Government, Automobile Dealership, Vehicle after Sales Service, Medical Consultations, Legal Services, Media, Grocery, etc. will be assisted by digital services. Yes, radical changes are on its way. Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey shared his opinion on the same through a brief mail he sent out to his employees. He said, “this WFH situation would make the world much better, peaceful and beautiful. Hence, if our employees have favorable conditions to work from home, if they wish to continue with it forever, we will make it happen”.
Productivity
Many have pointed out that the current situation with its lack of proper coordination and technical support system is decreasing productivity and affecting the quality of work. Yet many specialists advocate improved productivity and quality of work in the long-term. Innovative monitoring & coordination systems for them are being developed. 90% of households today do not have favorable features supporting working from home. Moreover, space constraints in families where two or three people work from home is also a big challenge.
Michael Dell Chairman and CEO – Dell
“Technology now allows people to connect anytime, anywhere, to anyone in the world, from almost any device. This is dramatically changing the way people work, facilitating 24/7 collaboration with colleagues who are dispersed across time zones, countries, and continents.”
This too has considerably affected productivity. But it will be mastered within the next 5 years. From now on, everyone will ensure that new residences will have amenities to serve the work from home age. Besides, the time taken by other members of the family who had not foreseen this scenario, to acclimatize has also affected productivity. But family members have started learning to adapt to the situation. It will become a lifestyle within one or two years.
Connectivity
What we have now with us are inflated numbers related to mobile and internet connectivity. The fact is that many areas apart from cities do not have a high-speed internet connection and clear cell reception 24×7. Most of the organizations around the world have advocated that the loss of productivity caused by this is enormous. Major IT – Internet organizations have already started to put pressure on governments to resolve this matter. The world will completely overcome this obstacle within the next 5 years.
Photo by Ken Tomita from Pexels
Infrastructure
Times are changing and organizations are no longer evaluated for their massive buildings or amenities around them. Organizations in the virtual world can now grow by entirely focusing on quality. Even though there would a substantial decrease in the number of massive builds over the next 10 years leading to a fall and lower reported growth for infrastructural organizations, houses would become more spacious. Soon there will be at least a ‘200-250 sq.ft’ space allocation in every new house for ‘working from home’.
Workspace renting
Renting out workspaces in various sizes suitable for one working person, for those who are presently uncomfortable or do not prefer to work from home in city outskirts is set to be the next new trend. These offices with motion detection mustering, high-speed internet, uninterrupted power supply and washrooms would have great demand in the coming days.
Webinar Control
The practice of Webinars (a combination of the words “web” and “seminar) will increase. Procedures such as project training, skill development programs, office meetings, job interviews, etc. would be conducted entirely through webinars. This will help organizations to cut costs in several aspects such as energy, travel, hotel, overnight stay, room booking, food, gifts and more. Major corporations have already accepted webinars for their convenience and affordability. Extensive usage of webinars in MSMEs and government establishments will be the norm in the near future.
The possible flip side
Work-life separation (balance), decreased social life, teamwork benefits, loneliness, time management problems, coworker relationships, lack of regular motivation, tiredness, anxiety, stress and depression can be another side of the WFH scenario. Tackling this is one of the biggest challenges faced by the corporate world right now. Many of them can even lead to psychological imbalance. If the corporate world does not foresee them and does not execute plans in consideration to these facts, there are high prospects that it will modify Global Happiness & Health indices. Because, according to a 2017 United Nations report, 41% of remote workers were found reporting higher stress levels, compared to just 25% of office workers.
Footnote
Before we extend our unwavering support to this revolution called work from home or remote working, lets read what renowned psychologists Robert Yerkes and John Dodson have written in ‘The Yerkes-Dodson Law’;
“When it comes to work, there are two kinds of stress—the good kind and the bad kind. They observe that stress can be productive up to a point, and then it results in reduced productivity. Being unable to report being stressed is detrimental, as pressure will eventually outweigh an individual’s ability to cope over time. In contrast, one recent study found that colleagues who spend just 15 minutes socializing and sharing their feelings of stress had a 20% increase in performance.”
