While I don’t have the exact conclusion on this trending issue: is work from home a boon or bane; but I would like to share my opinion on this keeping in mind that I’ll try my best to put forward a balance between the two viewpoints.
Is Work from Home a Boon or Bane?
Work from Home a Boon
Human interaction through virtual means has indeed become a one-of-a-kind thing. Not only does it deliver flexibility in work hours, but also promotes a larger space for everything that matters to you. That is, your ‘ME’ time, family time, and every other little thing that you wanted to experience before the outbreak of the pandemic came into the world. And now it’s easy to do all that due to the availability of work from home option.
From a corporate perspective, a huge profit has been made in terms of saving employee expenses, getting real exposure to global companies virtually, bringing out the talented ones from the corners of the world, and what else not.
To sum it up, take a quick look at the pros of WFH:
- Increased Productivity Level: To increase productivity, environmental factors play a crucial role. And no wonder, through the WFH system you can reap the actual space for focusing just on work. As a consequence, it helps to broaden your ideas about your project, the ideas that you actually want to work on and portray. Isn’t it?
- Greater Savings: While you’re on WFH, you don’t have to burn a hole in your pocket on travel expenses, outside meals, etc., hence making an impactful saving in the end. The same applies if we see from the company’s end which saves employees’ extra expenses for all such purposes.
- Flexibility: Living a life full of flexibility is a blessing. And there is no doubt in saying that WFH has contributed vastly in this case than we imagined. Although we all need to meet the deadlines of our project, with the presence of work from home those tasks get easier to do at our pace.
- Better Reach Out: It has been witnessed that when companies turn into WFH mode, they tend to find better employees in their hiring process. Thus, navigating through talented profiles and reaching out to them has become a lot easier.
- Rise of Next Level of Globalization: That is, the art of communicating with different professionals across the world are coming down the pike. With this, the soft skills once again proved to be one of the essential criteria for achieving exponential success in any field. It all started with that immediate push in transforming the world into the ultimate digital world of technological advancement.
From here, one thing has assured the trend of doing WFH has still way more to go and is unstoppable. Even Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg marked these words by making his statement that “by 2030 half of most employees will not have to work from the office”.
So, what do you need to do exactly right now? Upskill yourself more and more in the field you’re going for as well as in your soft skill- the base of this globally recognized generation. Work from home is making it easier to take time for yourself and overcome those challenges with full flexibility in your hand.
Work from Home a Bane
The definition of work from home is not as ideal as what and how we think. Yes, I understand the fact that WFH is responsible for the immense benefits we’re getting in return, and I definitely agree with it. But on the other hand, a few must-have factors are disintegrating into worse conditions due to the same reason.
Change is much needed but this is not how it is supposed to be. Presenting the three major factors for which work from home can be considered a bane. Take a look:
- Lack of Socialization: As the pandemic and the WFH mode goes on, people seem to be not as enthusiastic as they were before. I know it is perfectly alright but not applicable for those who aren’t used to it and also those who aren’t meant for it. Those live group social interactions, dealing with challenges on your own, conducting events, and getting to know people well around you are all missing.
- Shortening of Attention Span: This factor is nowadays quite debatable due to a claim made by a recent study. Under this study, it is found that the average attention span of humans is shorter than a goldfish even. And that relies upon this new way of working which can be detrimental in every possible way.
- Mental Health Deterioration: Amidst Covid-19, well-being has just become a tag that looks different from the outside than what it looks from the inside. According to a few researchers, more people are now seeking therapy sessions than ever before.
Now here comes the positive and negative aspect that lies in between. If I say in terms of negativity, the rate of loneliness, depression, and anxiety is still intensifying due to a few reasons, one of which is the WFH mode of working for sure. And in terms of positivity, it remains the same old controversy for the toxic potential it holds deep down to sabotage employees.
In the end, the degradation in work structure is taking place in the digital era as it’s not enough.
So, Is Work From Home a Boon or Bane?
The truth is that it still remains a question or maybe we are going through a ‘double-edged sword time’ that’s why. In the corner of 2021, some multinational companies have already allowed work from the office while some haven’t. Some employees don’t embrace this WFH style of working, some do embrace and get adaptable to it easily. So, it depends.
Remember, the past consequences are the present and the future. Similarly, work from home may disappear for a while but it will again make a comeback for the situation which we can’t negotiate with either.
What’s the ultimate solution then? Nothing but consider it as of course a challenge, educate yourself on the changes and the steps to be taken for it, stay more aware and relevant, and keep a balance which is way more challenging though but not impossible.
That’s all for today.
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