Our new reality: Working from home

We’re not done with the first wave of COVID yet, but it’s already affecting the way we live in the long-term. Yesterday, Shopify joined companies like Twitter and Square in making the announcement that not only will their employees work from home for the rest of 2020, they’ll have that option going forward to make it a permanent thing if they wish to. It’s almost inevitable that more companies who can afford this will follow suit soon, making work-from-home a firm part of our ‘new normal’.

I understand that this may not be an option for companies in a number of sectors, however, I happen to work in one that should easily adapt to working from home. It’s always been an option I’ve liked, though to be honest, I always thought of it as a ‘take a break from the office for a day’ option. I’ve been working from home for more than 2 months now, and while the first couple of weeks were hard, I’ve settled into a good routine now, and quite enjoy it. In fact, it’s going to be strange going back to the office if and when it does reopen this year.

To be honest, I’m surprised that it took a pandemic for WFH to become a norm. This was coming for a while, but lots chose to ignore it. Most organizations are still headed by Gen X’ers who started their careers during a time when it was impossible to work from home, and so it’s perhaps that way of thinking that has led to negative perceptions about it. There’s a fear that productivity will decline, and collaboration will suffer, and I’m glad that this pandemic is proving the polar opposite, and that WFH is not just an excuse to take the day off. Add to this the money that will be saved by organizations on rent for commercial space, money and time that employees will save on commuting, the mental health benefits (I know there are downsides as well) of being at home around family, and it seems like a win-win situation for the companies that can afford to do this.

Even with all these benefits, I will still be sad to see the decline and eventual death of going to a physical office. I won’t miss the commute, but I’ll miss interacting with people. Some of my best friends today are people I’ve met at work, it’s bound to happen when you end up spending almost as much time with them as with your family during a week. It will also be weird not knowing your colleagues, their personalities and their work styles. Especially if you work together on a team, it’s important to know what each person is like, what motivates them and what annoys them. These things will be difficult to gauge through a virtual relationship and might lead to problems with team dynamics. And what about after-work drinks? And what about the annual Summer event, or Christmas party? Will those still happen, but just be a day/evening where you spend time with a bunch of almost strangers? At least when you met your colleagues every day, you knew who to avoid at these events. I’ll also miss the structure and discipline that an office provides, the sense of routine having to go to work gives you. Maybe the structure and discipline will seep into working from home as well, he says, as he writes this lying down on his bed in a T-shirt and boxers.

It’s also going to make our world more open and connected than it already is. In her previous role, Akanksha was working from home, with her manager in the US, and her other team members spread out across Asia and Europe. Time differences were an issue, but they still managed without any major issues. Physical location won’t matter all that much anymore, we’ll become even closer than we’ve ever been. People won’t want to live in cities either, why would you choose to live in a cramped 650 sq ft apartment in the middle of the city when you can live in a 1500 sq ft house with loads of space for the same price, especially when you’re now going to spend most of your time there, and not have to travel? But then the suburbs will become overcrowded, so will they have the same allure as they now do?

It’s going to be a change that is maybe being underestimated, and that will take some time getting used to. But it’s something that’s going to happen, and better late than never.