Is WFH Really A Good Idea?
Pandemic describes the real significance of working from home. Previously the concept was limited to employees of computer enterprises but because of the Covid-19 pandemic, that equation has to be used by everyone from small jobs to large corporations.
While we currently use skype, zoom calls but this concept was born 48 years ago. In 1973, Jack Niles, an engineer working in NASA invented the idea of working from home and named it “Telecommuting”.
The concept of WFH may seem cool, but just as a coin has two sides, there are also have an advantage and disadvantages to working from home.
So let’s discuss the pros and cons of WFH.
Pros of WFH:
1) Assists in enhancing flexibility
As you WFH, you can set your work hours based on your needs and preferred work hours. We can personalize our work according to our convenience and taste and give it the desired appearance, that will keep our spirit happy and energetic while working, and those things will certainly help increase our productivity. Also for office use, you don’t have to wear the office uniform or dress code. We can wear clothes according to our convenience and preferably.
2) Supports productivity Improvement
Working from home means staying away from the distractions of the office mob and coworkers. While working from home, you feel like you are your boss and part of the jock is your ego is also pleased. Because while you work at home, your workroom is entirely yours or we can call it our cubical, and it also has the advantage of having no distraction for us to do our work with the proper attention and that certainly contributes to our productivity.
3) Contributes to job satisfaction
You don’t have to go anyplace while you WFH, which saves you lots of time and money. You can also make time for your family and hobbies because you determined your work schedule. We are satisfied with our job because everyone is happy to be together at home.
4) Reduce traffic gridlock
Air pollution is currently the most serious environmental threat. Many diseases are exacerbated by air pollution like heart diseases, heart stroke, respiratory diseases, etc. so we can protect ourselves from such deadly diseases by reducing pollution.
According to the study conducted by WHO, the pandemic period had the lowest level of air pollution. If you keep the work-from-home culture in mind, you will reduce traffic congestion and save time and money. This enables us to contribute to the health of the environment.
Cons of WFH:
1) Lower paid
According to the research done by (Australian Journal of Labour Economics, volume 17. Number 2.2014.), the result suggests employees are working hours from home, earn approximately eight percent less in hourly wages and this difference is similar for men and women. So if you are thinking to do WFH jobs please consider these points first.
2) Longer working hours
According to the research done by ( Doherty, et al, 2000; Pratt, 1999; Empirica, 1999), It is estimated that 42% of U.S. teleworkers work 50 to 75 hours per week and that most of the European teleworkers works more than ten hours per week. This picture is quite different than our imagination. So those who are thinking about WFH jobs should keep In mind that working from home might reduce some of the problems but you will have to pay the compensation by working longer hours.
3) Unbale to balance work and life
Working from home can have an impact on family functioning due to time spent on children, the quality of relations, family environment, and other family-related obligations. It affects labor and family balance when work conflicts with family responsibilities, when overexertion affects employee social networking and their work/life balance. It’s not that easy to balance professional life and family life at a time. ‘Duxbury and Higgins (2002)’ note that Working from home can increase work-family conflict when employees working from home spend a higher or disproportionate percentage of their paid time on work-related activities. Flexible telecommuting is beneficial for work organization, but not for the wage earner’s family.
4) Felling of social isolation
It is ironic to find out how critical our colleagues are to our emotional and mental wellbeing. Each syndicated office comedy and open diatribe revolves around the inconveniences that have just faced the unique quirks of individuals that you might not have searched on your own. The pre-pandemic and remote work was considered a haven against these fronds and arrows but, months of work at home confirmed to what extent these obligations are important.
