The New Normal
The COVID-19 global crisis has rocked the working world in more ways than one, with depressed economies and a change in the way we work being the most prominent features that can be seen. Touching on the second point, it is evident that, in the ‘new normal’, remote working will become an increasingly adopted style of work as employees work from their homes rather than in the office. While there have been multiple touted benefits to this arrangement, there also exist downsides and dangers that we cannot overlook. This article serves to explore three of the most noteworthy dangers, namely subconsciously longer working hours, disengagement from the organisation as well as the dissonance between remote working and the individual.
Blurring Lines Between Personal and Professional Time
One of the clearest advantages of working from home is the elimination of commuting time from the home to office/workspace. This has undoubtedly saved many of us the hassle of waking up extra early to get to work, allowing us to catch up on sleep while being ‘on time’ for work. However, this is not always to our advantage, In a NY Times article, it was stated that “without the natural rhythm and with no opportunity for decompression from work as no commute time, staff are often working much longer shifts and so more prone to errors and to suffering mental health issues”. The case presented here is that the blurred lines between actual work time/space and personal time have promoted longer working hours as we begin to lose track of where work ends and our free time begins.
I am sure that there are times in your working or internship experience where the WFH process has caused you to work overtime, sometimes without even noticing it, as work encroaches into our private lives. It is important to be aware of these issues and set our own boundaries to prevent the negative repercussions mentioned above in this new normal.
Missing Out On The Office ‘Vibes’
While many laud the chance to be able to work from home away from the perceived stressful environment of the workplace, this may unintentionally also detract from the work experience. As much as the negativity that surrounds some workplaces, there is always an element of workplace culture that constantly engages you when you are physically at the office, a feeling that is irreplicable at home. Without being exposed to these ‘office vibes’, do you truly feel like you are a part of the organisation? HRB reports that with remote working, there is a “risk of staff disengaging from the culture of the firm leading to a reduction in shared values and increased propensity to work around existing controls”. Without the vibes from the workplace, we tend to feel disassociated with our work and larger organisation, which could lead to issues in motivation and engagement.
As an intern who experienced both working from home and at the office before the Circuit Breaker measures, there is definitely a distinct difference in motivation and camaraderie when physical engagements are not made. Have you ever felt so disengaged from work at home that you lost the motivation to focus on the task at hand? Speaking to our fellow undergraduates, many felt this way during their remote internships. It is crucial that we understand the importance of the physical workspace as not only an area to do work but as the propagation of workplace culture, collaboration, and human interaction professionally. These are things we definitely cannot leave out if we are to feel like we are a part of the larger organisation.
Working From Home Is Just Not For Everyone
Working from home as been described as ‘good for some, but not for all’. There is definitely truth to these statements, both empirically and from personal experience. Some of us take much longer to adapt to this new working style and some of us just cannot work effectively in these conditions. A BusinessInsider report (listed in the Sources below), cites many reasons as to why this is so, from cultural dimensions to socio-economic level, all of which are valid factors that affect how well we thrive or sink in this new normal. The new normal has had waves of impact across all levels of seniority and is a bitter truth that we must work with as part of a post-COVID-19 world.
Even among your friends or yourself even, there may be some who are struggling to work well in this new normal. It is important that we acknowledge the difficulties we face and strive to find amicable solutions to them. Be it to seek help from those who are thriving in these circumstances or compromises that allow you to work in situations similar to the pre-new normal era, we must all strive towards being able to excel under these new and increasingly volatile times.
Working From Home Isn’t Always A Bed Of Roses
As discussed in the article, working from home has its negatives, from blurring the lines of our work-life balances to disengaging ourselves from the organisation and even creating dissonance due to the wildly different circumstances it lays upon us. While in the long term this may appear bleak to some, there still lies hope upon the horizon.
Companies are recognising the detriments that the new normal and remote working bring, creating new initiatives to mitigate these issues. Wellness workshops, online engagements and even sessions to optimise your home office are some of the ways companies strive to uplift their employees in these uncertain circumstances. It is a valiant effort but we as individuals must also do our part to adapt as best we can with these resources to the new normal of remote work.
As aspiring HR professionals, we must be sensitive to these issues that occur in the rapid developments of the workplace. Then, we can better function as champions of the talents in the workplace, being the key catalyst in ensuring that employee needs and issues are met in line with organisational goals and objectives.
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