Concerns arising from Work from Anywhere [WFA]
Despite the work from anywhere [WFA] benefits, organizations stand to lose due to multiple challenges. The normal working from office has been a default model for a long time, making it hard to change (Choudhury et al., 2020, 64). Can the challenges make the WFA model ineffective for knowledge organizations? Despite the challenges, the COvid-19 pandemic has made organizations develop solutions to make WFA a workable approach. Among the concerns is reduced problem-solving skills, brainstorming, and communication among workers. Working from diverse locations causes challenges to meet and share information with issues in scheduling group meetings. However, organizations can overcome the barrier through interactive technology such as Skype and Zoom which maintains everyday interaction among workers. There are also technologies that allow employees in different time zones to synchronize their communications. Another challenge with WFA is reduced knowledge sharing. Employees carry knowledge making it hard to share when working from diverse areas. Organizations can adopt knowledge documenting and access approaches to overcome the barrier and make the WFA model effective.
Socialization, mentoring and, camaraderie also become a challenge with WFA. The program causes disconnection between employees that would facilitate mentorship and socialization. However, managers can develop policies such as “planned randomized interactions” to maintain socialization and mentorship (Choudhury et al., 2020, 65). An additional issue with the program is challenging in compensation and performance evaluation. WFA affects usual physical interaction and evaluation for performance, making it hard for managers to assess their workers (Choudhury et al., 2020, 67). Managers can employ measures such as customer reviews and work output to evaluate and compensate employees. There is also the problem of data security and employee regulation which gets out of hand with the WFA model. It is no longer easy for leaders to secure employees and customer data due to reduced surveillance on workers, especially when working on their machines and handling client information. Organizations can develop new data security and regulation approaches such as ”transitional-based security” (Choudhury et al., 2020, 67).
Is the WFA right for other Organizations?
The analyzed benefits, challenges, and their solutions apply to knowledge work and specific organizations under survey. Can WFA apply in other firms with different features such as manufacturing processes? At the moment, it is impossible for other organizations and especially manufacturing ones. Current issues surrounding the program have had a specific solution that might not apply in other organizations (Choudhury et al., 2020, 67). Manufacturing organizations, for instance, need more sophisticated technology to give workers more control of happenings in the office. Such companies are more employee demanding at the physical location to control the machines like switching. However, even the knowledge work firms would argue the same challenges before the Covid-19 pandemic. Leaders in other organizations can also evaluate their operations to develop solutions to barriers in WFA. The solutions have come following management strategies, adoption of technology, and new organization process (Choudhury et al., 2020, 67).
The benefits of WFA outweigh the costs in any organization, making the model possible in other firms. The cost of offices, needed for improved performance, and employee welfare are uniform regardless of the organization type (Choudhury et al., 2020, 67). Such needs push other companies to implement the WFA framework and face the issues to develop solutions. Most knowledge work firms were not prepared but started the program and developed solutions with time across 2020. Leaders need to take a bold step to recognize their teams, train them for the new model, develop new policies, and implement the latest technology that aligns with their firms and WFA program. There is enough technology to overcome all barriers, such as automation and communication synchronization.
Reference List
Choudhury, P., Foroughi, C. and Larson, B.Z., 2020. ‘Work-from-anywhere: the productivity effects of geographic flexibility‘, Academy of Management Proceedings, 2020 (1), p. 21199.