This continuously growing world suddenly came to a halt by a virus (COVID 19) infection earlier this year, necessitating the need for a nationwide lockdown by the government to contain the spread of the virus through physical distancing. It was a systematically enforced compulsion for companies, resulting in switching to work from home mode.
Though employees have transitioned successfully to remote working, WFH brings its own set of challenges and benefits. We aimed to analyze the various benefits and challenges faced by working professionals in adopting the new working modes and the part played by their respective organizations to make this transition smooth for their professional and personal lives.
Survey Participants Details: 423 Working Professionals
Purpose: To explore work from home effectiveness, organizational and employee preparedness to embrace the new normal. To analyze the benefits and the challenges encountered by the working professionals in adopting to remote working. Role of the organizations in ensuring the mental and physical welling of their employees. The likely impact of Covid-19 on future workplace plans, designs, and practices
Our survey has uncovered many facts, some of which are listed below:-
1. In our survey we ask - In a year how long have you worked from home before COVID 19 Outbreak?
Overall 62% - participants responded that they have never had the facility to work from home ever
Honestly, this is the first time I'm typically working from home, and it's quite different from going out and working in an office environment. My company maintains an excellent working policy. For me, WFH is somewhat convenient as it saves me from the hassle and also saves the commuting time. The flip side is that it has increased the workload & the operating hours.
Now, frequent meetings have taken precedence over personal lives as there is no definite schedule and time frame causing an imbalance. Nevertheless, I know how to manage my work and at the same time maintain a work-life balance. In the WFH scenario, we interact more; in the present circumstances, I have a conversation with my boss for 2-3 hrs. while before we didn't use to interact much. There is increased coordination and involvement from everyone in WFH.
I would prefer to go to the office as it provides a space for physical interaction with colleagues and superiors at the same time tasks get completed in a specified time frame. Going forward, a balanced combination of WFH and going to the office would help maintain a healthy work-life balance - Mr Yogesh Gaur
"Being a professor, I’ve never worked from home before" - Prof. Shija Abhilash
2. Benefits of Work From Home - Participant Response
Among the various benefits of Work From Home, saving money from travelling expenses stood out with
Overall 68% of participants highlighting it as an important benefit of work from home.
Impressive findings below - what we found more impressive was the fact that participants responses on saving money from travelling expenses this number decreases as we move up the hierarchy.
For 72% of entry-level participants, saving money from travelling was an important benefit, while this figure decreased to 53% at the senior level.
The whole nation was under lockdown, and no one was allowed to move; ideally, the numbers should have remained the same for entry-level and senior levels. Furthermore deeper, we found out that, for senior-level employees, the travel expenses on their overall savings are minimal; also, the travelling allowance provided to Senior level employees is significantly higher.
3. Since the whole Work From Home system was infused abruptly into the corporate system, without a structured process and policy, it lacked the support of bare minimum infrastructure and resources, which did leave a negative impact on employees mental, emotional and physical well being.
Work from Home – Bitter Sweet Experience Participants Response
4. Challenges did you face during Work From Home (Multiple Choice Question) - The participants responded
“If work from home is minimizing our physical outgoings, it is also maximizing our working hours, which leads to mental health issues. ” - Engineering Manager 25 Years of Experience
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#Finding1 - 57% of people admitted that they were forced to devote more hours to work than usual hours
#Finding2 - 34% of participants reckoned that their normal sleep-wake cycle was disturbed because of the long working hours and no proper rest.
#Finding3 - 34% of participants that they had to attend unnecessary meetings as work from home, made a simple 15-20 minutes task at the office, an hour task while working remotely.
#Finding4 - In a very discouraging result, 33% of participants accounted for significant productivity loss.
#Finding5 - 28% of participants reported - salary inconsistencies and irregular pay cuts, an adverse effect on employees
One of the most talked-about factors regarding Work From Home was Long working hours. Through the survey research, the overall 57% of participants accepted that they had to work longer hours than usual.
It was interesting to note that this figure is 50% at Entry-level and surges to 64% at the Senior level.
Life always surprises us, positively or negatively; all we can do is to develop more resilience, stay focussed, keep moving, it can help us to adopt new learnings to reframe negative experiences in more positive ways.
5. Is Work from Home A Better Choice than Work from Office or a Combination of Both?
Participants Responded: Our survey shows that 71% of participants prefer a Combination of Work
from Home and office, 19% of Work From Office and 10% of Work From Home.
Gone are the days when Work From Home was considered an advantage and a dream for Working Professionals. COVID-19 situation gave employees a chance to explore Work From Homelife, though people don’t seem to like it.
I really prefer the combination of both, going to the offices as well as WFH. A structure wherein, the working hours would depend on me, also there will be no fixed day to WFH or vise-versa. Here, productivity would matter the most!
- General Manager 16 Years Experience
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Recommendations - Adapt to Adjust and Overcome
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Trick yourself about the start and end time is what you need to do to avoid overworking. This can be done a few methods such as: -
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Setting up reminders to take breaks.
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Setting up a schedule of what you will be doing over the day.
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Setting up alarms, or appointments in the calendar to tell yourself that it’s time to get to next task or informing, about the deadline.
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Going out for a walk or trying to leave your house for some time, will change your mood and give you a feeling of refreshment!
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Involve yourself into some form of relaxation exercises like yoga or meditation to stimulate your mental faculties’ to take care of your mental well- being, it will help to deal with anxiety and depression as there is a lot of uncertainty prevalent.
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You need to be more proactive about nurturing relationships when you work from home! Stay connected with family, friends, and support systems using technology like FaceTime, Skype, Google Hangout and other video-based options. Talk about your fears and concerns with people you trust.
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Avoid continuous exposure to news, media and social media that may trigger or elevate anxiety, stress, or panic. Stay informed by following few, authoritative resources, but limit media consumption.
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Create an office environment when you work, using VPN networks, useful data, office related equipment, etc. It will give you the feeling of working in an office environment.
Embrace that you are safe at home and that you could work and earn!
Steps To Be Taken by Organization for Well- Being of Employees
Organizations thrive through a sense of belonging, shared purpose, and an inclusive culture.
Team experience is a critical driver of virtual culture—and managers and team leaders have a massive impact on their teams' experiences and performances.
Managers need to guide, inspire, and enable their teams, helping them navigate challenges that pull them down, equipping them with the right expertise, and giving them the tools they need to deliver their positional and organizational goals.
Stepping up the Confidence-Building and Motivation Game, Be the Right Role Model, Promote Wellness, Promoting Informal Interactions and Keep Track, Create Safe Workplace
Reinforce Organizational Culture
The current pandemic has strengthened the importance of corporate culture and values in helping staff be productive and find purpose in their work. Therefore, it is especially important for employees working from home to stay connected to each other and the organization's values.
Organisations Have to Invest in Building and Fostering Trust
COVID pandemic has created a scenario of uncertainty and insecurity in employees and employers alike. This situation can be managed by building a trusting work ecosystem.
Trust is an essential element for the functioning of organizations because of its indirect effects. When trust is in place, people will act in a certain way which is conducive to outcomes that drive performance. Establishing trusting work relationships makes companies perform over time. Lack of trust is an important threat to businesses, still, companies hesitate to consider building trust as a strategy that warrants significant investments as trust as a factor is intangible and hard to measure or quantify. It is in how an organization treats its employees that trust is built or destroyed. Building trust has to be a continuous project only then can it reap dividends over time.
Organizations have to invest in building trust. Trusting work relations fosters a culture which brings positive outcomes. Trust should not be mistaken with compliance or control. Building trust is an important leadership responsibility and one that should be exercised continuously and should be a long term project for the organization.
Suggestions - Work From Home Setup - What Every Employee Must Have
When it comes to working from home, a decent and planned setup is very important. A properly planned out setup helps bring normalcy and productivity into your work. An improper or cluttered workspace can not only affect your productivity but also affect your health.
It is therefore imperative to have a workspace which facilitates our working and doesn’t have any negative impact on our health. Decluttering your workspace could help you be more productive and less stressed.
So what do you need on your desk?
Apart from the obvious work equipment (laptop, keyboard, mouse, etc), always having these three things on your desk:
Water Bottle: Keeping your body hydrated is very important. It will avoid unnecessary interruptions – as you would not be required to rush to your fridge to quench your thirst.
A plant: It can bring a bit of life into your work setup. You can invest in a few houseplants to increase aesthetics – it will add a fresh vibe to the place
Light / Natural light: If your work station arrangement can get natural light, nothing better than it else make sure that your work area is adequately lit.
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Abhishek Chaudhary - Research Project Head
BSc - Chemistry, MBA - Marketing from PIMSR, Mumbai University
A Talent Acquisition Professional by training. Passionate about Human Resources and Market Research, how Market Research can be utilised for the betterment of Human Resources. Enjoys reading fiction books and is also a passionate Aquarist.
Divyansh - Project Management Intern - B.Tech, Electrical-IIT Indore
A geek who likes to learn and explore new things, aspiring to travel around the world.
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