Coronavirus (COVID-19) has profoundly impacted the lives of billions around the world, left global economies shattered, leading to collapsed health care systems, changed the course of educational systems worldwide, lost livelihood, and brought the world to its knees.
This unprecedented situation has exposed the grim reality of the present where we all stand the same regardless of our caste, creed, culture, class, custom, colour, or cuisine. The virus simply doesn’t differentiate and has demonstrated to us the actual value of freedom.
COVID-19 pandemic has not only disturbed the lives of people, but many unfortunate ones lost their jobs while millions had to work from home. Different lines of work are shutting down, leaving everyone clueless about their future, and now “work from home” is considered a new normal.
Telecommuting is not considered a nice-to-have or optional perk but is viewed as a core business strategy.
The routine of working from home for an indefinite period has significant surprising gains. Not just this, it has also brought many opportunities along with a few obstacles, and now people have come to a balance and stability in working from home against the initial glitches.
“No matter how much falls on us, we keep plowing ahead. That’s the only way to keep the roads clear” – Greg Cincaid
The past 12 months working from home, here are 9 things you probably would have realized:
1.) Tedious travelling – Not anymore!
Daily commuting to the office was really a big headache, and wait! Not just that, it has long-term health side effects too, which are associated with increased levels of stress and anxiety. But since the adaptation of “work from home”, not commuting is probably one of the best things about it.
The exciting thing about alternative work arrangements is that you are home the minute you log out from your laptop. Striking out the travelling time from your routine has a domino effect on your lifestyle. The time that was spent earlier on commuting is now spent differently, on maybe an extra hour of sleep, or exercise, or more time with your loved ones, which brings flexibility in your schedule and ultimately reduces stress.
2.) Striking your work-life balance
Isn’t it great to have more control over your schedule! It is. Right? Fortunately, the “work from home” experiment has been overwhelmingly successful. Many remote jobs come with flexible schedules, and that means workers can start and end their day as per their convenience and as long as the work is not impacted.
From taking flexible breaks, being in your own comfortable self, running some errands, taking power naps to make time for yourself and your well-being, remote working has its fair share of benefits, including eating healthy food at home, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any struggles as you adjust to this new way of working.
3.) Comfortable Clothing
“When your skin feels happy, your mind feels fresh, and what’s better than comfortable clothing to achieve it.”
When you realize that the otherwise normal daily routine activities like waking up, brushing your teeth, taking a shower, shave, dress selection, getting dressed, eating breakfast, and starting off early for work to avoid the rush which consumes the lion’s share of your time and is always very tiresome have reduced to a greater extent, your happiness multiplies.
You can be at ease in your pyjamas throughout the day, stay on your bed, and still get the work done.
4.) No office parties
Recall those times when you used to hang out with your colleagues during happy-hours or team lunches in fancy restaurants or maybe potlucks in office canteens, NOT ANYMORE!
Whilst many among us would be delighted as they get to skip the perils and pitfalls of the office parties, several would be experiencing a twinge of sadness that they won’t be meeting their colleagues in person.
Although working from home has made our lives simpler, and we are able to manage things in a better way, at times, we do miss these get-togethers because they actually give us a break from the monotonous rigmarole.
5.) Life revolves around meetings – Hello, am I audible! Is my screen visible!
Are you annoyed by hearing it a hundred times in a day? Well, everyone is!!
Well, as mentioned, this is the “New Normal”. That’s how the day begins, and that’s how it ends. A significant portion of your day revolves around virtual meet-ups, which have their own pros and cons.
While you do not have to scramble around to find a conference room or have to deal with a loud co-worker or distractive office convos, you face other kinds of challenges like slow internet connection at different locations of your house, which makes you hop from one spot to another to find the best signal. Also, you need to ensure that there are no kids, pets, or gossip mongers, etc., nosing around.
Sometimes you miss the office energy that lacks when you work at home.
6.) Cost-effective
Work from home is as cost-effective for you as it is for the company. While the company doesn’t have to incur rent & utility costs, cleaning services costs, taxes, etc., employees have also benefited from this.
The most obvious way in which working from home is cost-effective for you is reduced commuting costs. While you are working comfortably in your pyjamas, you may have realized your expenditure on clothes has reduced to a reasonable extent compared to before the “work from home” routine.
Since we started working from home, we’ve been really focused on eating healthy food that makes us feel good and energetic at the same time, which not only keeps us healthy but is cost-effective too.
7.) Employee Benefits
Since the virus raged in, it became evident to the employers that their employees needed greater support than ever before. Many companies around the world have extended help in supporting their employees by launching covid assistance programmes, health and safety leaves, telehealth services, financial assistance, providing health and safety kits, and many more like conducting vaccination drives to keeping a hotline for covid-related assistance.
We must have felt that feeling of gratitude for our employers for their sincere, relentless, and life-saving efforts.
If the coronavirus pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we have to be ready for anything.
8.) Up-skilling
Our day-to-day working lives now look very different than they used to, and we have started realizing the importance of LFH (Learn from home) and how important it is to keep sharp that gives us the competitive edge.
We now have more time for ourselves as a significant amount of time is saved in socializing, running errands, and of course, commuting, which is now spent on learning new skills like cooking, reading, cleaning, multitasking, along with technical upskilling.
We have become more mindful of the importance of learning new skills and have set our goals and objectives, and are trying to make the most of our “work from home” time.
9.) Missing Office!
This should go without saying that we once used to crib about commuting to the office and would look for reasons to work from home now more often than not miss going to the office.
We never thought that there would ever be a day when we’d miss our office desk, canteen’s fast food, and light banter with colleagues. Well, the current scenario has indeed reversed the situation, and this reminds me of a hilarious letter an employee wrote to his boss:
“Respected Sir,
As I am suffering from leave. Please grant me 2 days at the office.”
(Pun intended! Of course)
We have definitely experienced a lot during this pandemic. Though it may have worked as a catalyst for millions of employees around the world to work from home, there are many other benefits to it as well.
Life is a lesson; we learn and continue to learn every day. This pandemic has brought everyone together. So let’s be kind, humble, help others in every possible way we can and not wait for something terrible to happen before learning how to appreciate the good. This phase of life will always be remembered. It is certain that you must have your own different set of working from home experiences.
Our professional courses by the best industry professional over the years has helped make the work the work from home experience more interesting than usual.
