Is Working from Home the New Trend?
Is Working from Home an Alternative to Working in an Office?
2020 has undoubtedly given a push to the digital era due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Internet connections have improved, collaborative working over the internet while still being at home is now a thing and so are online cafeterias- links to pages where team members can log into and “chill” together, virtually. However, with all this cyberspace improvement, why is it that business owners are still complaining about productivity? What is it that an office environment has to offer that the virtual world doesn’t? Is it going to take a few more years for all of us to go completely digital while ensuring that efficiency and productivity aren’t compromised with regard to the work we do?
Here are a few reasons why offices in today’s date still make for better output boosters in comparison to Virtual Reality:
Employee Engagement:
Nobody can compare a face to face interaction to a video call. Take for example a child who studies in a city away from his hometown and video calls his parents every now and then to feel at home. However, is he really at home? The answer is no. Similarly, employee interaction is beneficial in many ways. At home, we interact with our acquaintances just to coordinate for work while when at office, chances of brainstorming together are higher, a process that is undoubtedly superior to mere coordination when we look for better output.
Also, a lot of us have acquaintances that aren’t just colleagues but also confidantes with whom we share our stories and emotions during break time at work. Virtual offices even though a dream come true, aren’t capable of allowing us to have the kind of interactions that we do with our close ones at work through a mere screen.
Focus:
When we work remotely, our focus on work is usually interrupted by a number of things. It can be the doorbell, a ringing landline, a family member or our daily household help. These lead to reduced levels of concentration on our work, in turn leading to lesser productivity and a loss for the firm. A work environment comparatively has lesser distractions which helps one focus on what they’re getting paid for, except for the unfortunate situation where one has a gossip monger sitting right next to him/her.
Stronger Credibility with One-On-One Interactions
According to a study conducted by Harvard Review, 95% individuals stated that one-on-one meetings helped build a stronger and more trustworthy relationship in comparison to the virtual ones. This in itself explains the idea of strong credibility for business relationships. Even though a number of people today do choose to take the route of conducting their meetings virtually, the effectiveness and efficiency of a person-to-person interaction will simply outdo it. The alternate route of choosing cyberspace over a traditional meeting is usually due to barriers in it such as two parties staying in different cities or the difficulty to leave work in order to meet a potential client or business partner.
That being said, it is now quite evident that remote working can’t be compared to working out of an office just yet, though maybe over time it may become a better way of functioning. On the brighter side, 2020 did leave no option but for most of us to experience working from home, a working culture that can be explored further and taken forward a decade or two later once the world has better and more efficient technology to offer for this particular purpose.