The world, as we know it, is changing and the effects are going to impact us for a long time to come, especially how we work. With organizations already implementing Work from Home and other remote working options, the global work culture has largely changed.
As the initial brouhaha of the migration of the work infrastructure subsided, people are realizing the benefits of remote working. Despite initial physical and emotional adjustments with the new work practice, both companies and employees are now in favour of telecommuting.
Could this be the future of the workspace? And if yes, then how can companies/professionals manage their workforce remotely?
For starters, WFH does have multiple advantages like convenience, cost benefits, and needless to say, a better work-life balance. Studies have shown that a home office radically cuts down an employee’s monthly costs, including travel, meals, and office wardrobe. Imagine saving that entire percentage of your income and also being able to work in a space you are most comfortable in!
By saving the travel time, one can utilize the same for work or personal needs. Also, as you spend more time at home, it lets you spend more time with your family and yourself, without compromising on valuable work hours. It enhances the work-life balance that every professional struggles to achieve today.
However, it is not just employees but also the companies that benefit from the reduced costs. If a company has more than half its workforce operating out of their homes, it can cut down on its establishment cost by transitioning into a distributed working model. With reduced overheads, it will boost organizational savings, which could be redirected to developmental initiatives.
Along with major benefits, WFH does bring with it the issue of proper infrastructure and support that one requires to work effectively and smoothly; power outage, internet issues, connectivity issues, and not to mention, the lack of a professional office environment are a few issues that could be of concern.
Ergo, with the help of expert infrastructure partners, companies can provide the right tech solutions, IT support, connectivity, physical infrastructure that will help their employees work better, smarter, and stay productive. Organizations can have a multi-pronged approach of working at home, near home, probably at a nearby coworking space, and a head office as a viable solution. This will allow seamless remote working enabled by tech support and a fully functional office setup.
It is time we accept the fact that even if work-life resumes soon, it will never be the same. And even when we start exploring the outdoors, we will see the evolution of entirely new work culture of ‘Distributed Working’ – WFH + WNH (Work Near Home) + Office.
This newer model retains the practice of working from home, and yet allows professionals to be in a well-designed work environment, supported by proper infrastructure. It’s imperative that organizations assess their employee and managerial wfh sentiment and suitability to gauge the organizational readiness as a whole for work from home effectiveness.
Our latest product offering https://www.awfis.com/inspiration/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/shutterstock_3835072871.jpg@home is designed to cater to these organizational needs. It assesses employee, manager and organizational readiness, provides customized solutions for physical and IT infrastructure along with an integrated tech platform for employee management.
The impact of this all-new work practice could also go a long way in building a work culture that respects and encourages every individual’s needs, promotes trust within the team, sets clear expectations, and ensures accountability, by emphasizing more on communication than ever before.
Post lockdown, the new and improved is what we need to prepare for, for professional success, business growth, but most importantly, for the health of the society at large.