"Work from Home"- these three words have been a very known and constant companion of us, all around the globe for the past two years. With the strike of the Coronavirus pandemic, our regular job life got interrupted and people as well as companies have found a new path to circle around the work.
No commute, less cost, the comfort of home- a person may find work from home a very lucrative and easy-peasy thing to do. Does working from home mean some extra free time and extra comfort for a worker? What impact does it cast on a company?
There's always something more that remains in a situation that we can see or think about. Working from home isn't exceptional. We churn so many facts about it in our head that actually don't make any sense or don't work in the same way in reality.
Let's figure out those myths vs reality for both individuals and companies regarding work from Home" in this article!
Work from Home - 8 Myths vs. Reality
What is working from home?
The concept of working from home is literally a situation where a person works for a company from home. It's very popular among workers for the scope of work-life balance and more productivity.
In today's world, reaching a person or working from a different place is really normal due to the widespread use of the Internet. So, in this way, while employees can enjoy their work and personal life balance, companies enjoy better work from better employees with less administrative cost.
But there are some more to it which pushes us to see the myth vs reality of Working from Home.
Myth-1: Work from home means 'Less engagement' to the workplace and more to 'home'
This is really a myth! While a person is working from home, he/she isn't really getting engaged in their home anymore. Even if people are working from home, they need to complete their daily tasks, and that involves the same amount of effort as being at the office.
Moreover, if any kid is around, a person working from home needs help from someone else to take care of everything. In this way, working from home doesn't actually add some idle time to a person's bag. It adds some extra responsibility from home to their daily worklist too.
Myth-2: Work from home hampers and slows down the work process
When a company is not able to see an employee right in front of them, the thought that "they are not working at all" may cross their mind. But in a study by Stanford University, they figured out that people are actually 13% more productive while working from home.
Of course, it may vary from person to person. Yet, the work deadline is the work deadline and the place can't change it much!
Myth-3: You don't really be in formal attire or on the chair while working from home
Yes, it's actually true. And while attire doesn't cast any impact on the work process, the place of work can.
Working from bed or couch creates problems working at a normal pace. It's not good for one's physical wellness, and of course, not for mental wellness too.
Here, a person who is working from home should make a set-up to work or designate a certain portion of the home to work. In this way, working from home will be more effective than working from home.
Myth-4: Working from home provides the freedom of time
Does working from home mean one can work at their chosen time? Of course not! In an office, it's a set-up which is dependent on everyone's work. So, if anyone delays, the whole work process becomes slower.
If employees are thinking about the time-freedom due to working from home, that is not true actually. On the other hand, companies actually take the benefit of working from home and assign their workers to work even after their office hours, which isn't a nice practice either.
While real work from home practice is nice to do, in reality managing time becomes a really big issue for the employees.
Myth-5: Working from home means huge tech support to communicate
Not at all! In this era, to work from home, all you need is a normal laptop and internet connection. If one has that, everything can be done easily, and that too with productivity.
On the other hand, if it's about communication among the teammates, there are options for scheduling, online meeting, and many more things, by using which a team can really share cloud workspace without much issue.
Now, if you want to see your coworker's face every minute and every second, that won't make much sense and you won't be able to do it online. But of course, to make the work successful, you won't actually need to do it.
Myth-6: Everyone loves/hate working from home
For most people, that's not true at all. People love the mixture. But not all of them want to solely do work from home or office-based work. While working from home sounds like something really fun, it actually is not all the time.
So, a combination of working from home and from the office can actually make it work and bearable.
Myth-7: Employees who are doing work from home, aren't working really
Actually, they are. All you have to follow is their work process, not their physical presence. While having the benefit of working from home, employees try to ensure better productivity.
Through video chat and hours of online work, they become familiar with one another too. So, ultimately, it can be in the head, but actually, a remote job is also a job and of course, it's a full-time job too!
Myth-8: Working from home can create security issues for the company
There are thousands of companies who are providing their workers with laptops and other facilities so that they can work from home in case of emergency, even after working hours. So, security breaching actually isn’t an issue. One can easily solve it and through very little initiative companies can run their communication and work process through secured channels.
Working from home is nice to hear and for some, is really fun. But that’s not always the case. All the jobs don't fit the shape of working from home.
On the other hand, not all people don’t feel better this way. Still, there are people who love it and need it for their physical issues. In this current pandemic scenario, to cut costs and ensure productivity, companies also may be eager to jump onto the ‘work from home’ ship.
So, ultimately, all the facts that we hear or think about working from home aren't true and yet, there can be situations where that would be the only right thing to do. Now, it’s on you. Which work mode would you like to do? Work from home or Work from the office?