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The quiet, grinding loneliness of working from home
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Longing For The Office Culture
- Earlier a privilege for a few, work from home became a norm for most office-goers due to the ongoing pandemic and is likely to remain for the rest of the year.
- The shift towards work from home, which became necessary for most companies, was thought to be blissful in the minds of employees, while the bosses viewed it with suspicion.
- Employees are slowly finding out that it is lonely sitting in front of the screen at home and are missing the office culture, the sharing of ideas and socializing with fellow employees.
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Work-Life Balance When Working From Home
- Though employees are happy to see the demise of daily commutes and parking hassles, they are finding out that there is no work-life balance at home.
- Most workers live in apartments that aren’t suitable for 8 to 10 hours of work every day, as it was never designed to be a full-fledged office.
- Many employees would want to get back to offices as soon as possible due to social and mental issues, like the feeling of loneliness at home.
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Digital Monitoring
Monitoring software that checks time spent on different applications, chat response time, and keystroke recording is now in great demand.
HR departments worldwide are fueling the use of technology to have a way to control the employees that are now no longer in the office.
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The Sound Of Office
The sound of the office, with printers, keyboards and coffee machines is something that is missed so much that many are a Spotify playlist of workplace sounds while working from home.
Employees miss the office so much that they are not finding the work from home forever model to be enticing, even after they are offered a bonus to stay home.
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The new normal
Global companies, from the UK to the US, Japan to South Korea, have recently rolled out mandatory work-from-home policies amid the spread of the new virus.
Working from home will become t...
Clear communication
The key to working from home is clear communication with your boss. Your manager might not be used to managing people virtually or may not have a ready-to-go suite of tools for remote workers.
To prevent a breakdown in communication, you need to know exactly what's expected of you from day-to-day. Ask your boss for a 10-minute video call to start and end the day. Reach out to coworkers and managers regularly so that you won't get forgotten.
Treat it like a real job
- Don't lounge around in your pajamas. Treat it like a real job.
- Create a space exclusively for work that is removed from distractions, just like you would at your office desk.
- Create boundaries within your home that your family members understand when you're 'at work.'
- Bookend your day. If you can't enter and leave a physical office that creates more precise boundaries, use psychological transitions like a 20-minute coffee in the morning, then exercise right after work.
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Digital Nomad
In the UK there are 4.8 million freelance wo...
The Other Side
Studies on long term work-from-home workers found that lack of interaction with colleagues and the lack of an office vibe can result in a disconnection from the outer world, leading to isolation.
Working at Home
Pitfalls of working from home:
- Mental health disorders like anxiety, stress, and depression
- Feeling isolated
- Less self-discipline
- Lack of exercise
- Unable to keep the boundaries between work and life.
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Working Remotely
There is ongoing turbulence in the workplace due to the uncertainties provided by the new virus, resulting in a whole lot of people working from home. Normally the work-from-home policies are esta...
Common Challenges of Remote Work
Even high-performing employees can face a decline in job performance and engagement when working remotely. This can be due to:
- Lack of face-to-face supervision, which leads to a two-way communication gap and even mistrust.
- There is a delay in the procurement of information as remote workers aren’t able to sense the atmosphere and real-time events at the workplace, leading to a lack of ‘mutual knowledge’.
- A sense of isolation among remote workers, leading to a feeling of less belongingness within the organization.
- Distractions at home due to unplanned work-from-home transition, with employees balancing childcare and many other responsibilities along with work.
Improving Engagement And Productivity
A few specific, research-backed steps that can be taken to improve the engagement and productivity of remote employees:
- Establishing Structured Daily check-ins, by establishing a daily call or touchpoint.
- Providing several different communication technology options, using virtual communication tools like Slack, Zoom, Microsoft Teams etc., and making use of video conferencing.
- Establishing clear rules of engagement for communicating with the coworkers or the managers, according to the levels of urgency.
- Providing opportunities for remote social interaction by talking about non-work activities, thereby reducing the feeling of isolation among remote workers.
- Offering encouragement and emotional support by listening to the workers, acknowledging their stress, and keeping their needs and issues in focus.