Introduction
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world in 2020, only freelancers worked from home. It was largely considered non-practical, especially in populated cities and towns. However, the pandemic forced people to reconsider most of their practices to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus. Many governments and organizations even went ahead to make homeworking a policy priority. Working from home requires a dedicated space and a quiet environment (International Labour Organization, 2021). This can pose real challenges to employees, especially those who do not have enough space at home (Raposo, et al., 2022). This briefing note aims at exploring the intricacies involved in working at home and how they can be effectively managed.
Potential Benefits of Homeworking
Homeworking has a flexible schedule since it does not affect a person’s normal business hours. One can program himself to take up tasks at his most productive times like at dawn when the brain is still fresh for instance (Robinson, 2019). Indeed, some people are in their most productive hours at night while others at the morning (Simon, 2021). It also allows an employee to attend to other activities such as medical appointments and family events more easily (Cappelli, 2021). For parents, it can help to accommodate some of their family demands as they work. A lactating mother can spare some moments to attend to her baby and consequently save money for baby care programs.
Working at home also helps to save money both for the employer and the employee. The funds that have been set aside for internet, electricity bills and office space are saved. The employees also get to save their transportation and traveling expenses as well as work clothing and meals (Korunka, 2021). In addition, working at home make an employee feel freer, which boosts productivity and motivation (Rankins, 2021). The home environment provides an opportunity for one to escape office distractions and stress.
Drawbacks
On the other hand, despite all these benefits, working from home has its drawbacks as well. It leads to increased isolation and loneliness since an employee is cut from colleagues. As long as home working can boost productivity, it can also lead to distractions due to interruptions from children, neighbors, family, and pets (Davey, 2021). They might not understand that work hours should be respected. There is also the challenge of monitoring the performance of remote working employees especially for those employees who are engaged in background duties (Neeley, 2021). In addition, working at home inhibits teamwork making it challenging to collaborate and communicate effectively. It is not practical for employees to brainstorm ideas together through Skype and Zoom meetings.
Conclusions
To overcome the drawbacks of homeworking, a hybrid system should be adopted. This involves combining office and homework to encourage face-to-face interactions. As much as one works at home, he can strive to schedule to attend important meetings to improve communication and interaction with colleagues. It is also significant to establish clear rights and responsibilities to ensure that employees remain familiar with the telecommunication policies of the company. Each employee must ensure that he remains accessible and can be reached promptly by colleagues especially during business hours. Incidentally, this can be achieved through the use of new technology (Rossiter, 2021). Besides, it is advisable that employees keep track of their workflow to align it with what is expected of them. It is only through this workflow tracking that productivity can be effectively measured.
References
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Korunka, C. (2021). Flexible working practices and approaches: Psychological and social implications. Springer.
Neeley, T. (2021). Remote work revolution: Succeeding from anywhere. HarperCollinsPublishers.
Rankins, L. (2021). Guide to work from home: How to remote work effectively and have less stressful: Asynchronous communication. Independently Published.
Raposo, D., Neves, J., & Silva, J. (2022). Perspectives on design II: Research, education and practice. Springer.
Robinson, B. E. (2019). #Chill: Turn off your job and turn on your life. HarperCollinsPublishers.
Rossiter, T. (2021). Working from Home in easy steps. In Easy Steps.
Simon, M. (2021). Work from home: The ultimate guide on how to find legitimate work from home jobs, lean the foolproof methods on how to find work and earn money online. Editura My Ebook.