Is remote working a blessing or a nightmare?
At the end of 2019, we heard about COVID-19 in all media, as it was becoming a more and more popular topic and people wanted to know how it was evolving, especially since the WHO got involved with their official comms and the chairman being broadcasted on TV and the Internet.
Thanks to the pandemic, I have learned that there are two types of businesses: proactive and reactive businesses.
The reactive business is usually based on an old-fashion business model that follows the established guidelines by the government because they want all the employees to be in the office and work as it has happened until the pandemic started. It’s worth mentioning that some businesses have provided a good response to the situation, but they still worked on this response after hearing the government guidelines, not before.
On the other hand, the proactive business is the one taking measures beyond the government guidelines (both before and after these guidelines are shared with the nation) to ensure that all the employees are safe and have everything they need. These are usually tech-based companies that they don’t need face-to-face contact with anyone to perform their duties and, thus, are more used to technology and less used to old-fashion ways.
It’s also interesting having team meetings not just with your usual colleagues but with people from other departments too. These meetings are a nice way to make sure you realise the pandemic doesn’t affect equally to everyone, even when working for the same company or even the same department.
Several people are working from home these days. Still, although some of them (like me) can see how their own productivity gets a boost, other people believe their productivity is less than prior to the pandemic and the lockdown started.
So, the moral is that we are not talking about just new or old businesses, but also all the departments into the same company, as they have different requirements and needs, and even some people within your department might have different feelings because each mind is a world unto itself.
As a software engineer, I found myself working more comfortable and for more time than my usual worktimes because I am saving between 2:30 and 3:00 hours daily, given I don’t need to commute. I can finish something before stop working, and I can invest that time learning new programming languages, doing other online courses, and more.
But other software engineers might still prefer going to the office because in this way they don’t hear the children screaming or the TV shows that kids are watching. Hence, the office gives them another type of isolation that I actually don’t consider because I don’t have any dependents.
Unfortunately, there is not a straight answer to the question titling this post. There are too many factors, both personal and professional, that have a direct impact on the way each person sees and understands the requirement to work from home and the benefits (or problems) that this guideline is causing either to themselves or the business.
However, smart businesses can take advantage of this situation and save money by not paying for the headquarters, and invest that money on supporting their staff. Maybe it is cheaper paying for a smaller office (just for those that actually need an office) as well as for a nursery (if some employees need it) instead of keeping a whole building or either a floor or room inside a workspace, not to mention all the utilities and Internet connection.
At the same time, can you imagine how much talent could the business attract if the remote work is an option?
