Many people witnessed the benefits of remote working when the coronavirus pandemic compelled us to work from home.
What is the future of work two years later?
Before the pandemic, working from home was a luxury — and an outlier. When the coronavirus caused people to work from home around the world, there was a lot of discussion about how it would affect productivity, creativity, and, ultimately, work.
As remote working became more common, various advantages emerged, including flexibility, cost and time savings from commuting, and so on. This resulted in a growth in “borderless hiring,” which made it simpler to identify talent without regard to location.
Working from home, on the other hand, presented difficulties in achieving a work-life balance, leading to an increase in burnout among corporate employees, a severe loss of social connection, and, for others, diversions and a lack of discipline.
The dispute has raged for nearly two years, especially as some businesses look for methods to return to work.
While some businesses want to completely return to their pre-pandemic office arrangement, others are open to the idea of working from anywhere. Some people, on the other hand, want the best of both worlds – a hybrid system.
For example, Meesho, the social commerce unicorn, announced a “work from anywhere” policy, with employees who wanted to come to the office having the option of working at one of the company’s several satellite offices.
Meesho, in fact, has unveiled a first-of-its-kind Boundaryless Workplace Model, in which employees can work from home, the office, or any other location of their choosing.
Ashish Kumar Singh, Meesho’s Chief Human Resources Officer, said, “We have been pushing several industry-first initiatives that have changed conventional workplace norms, and this new policy is a step in that direction.”
To arrive at this innovative boundaryless method, we looked at a variety of future of work models. In the future, talent from all around the world will be able to contribute to Bharat through Meesho.” This borderless approach, however, does not appeal to everyone.
A startup founder said, “It’s difficult to create empathy in a remote working setting. People who have been around for a while as well as those who have lately joined.”
A unicorn’s HR director adds that hybrid appears to be the best option.
They say, “Any organization’s culture supports growth and sustained output. Larger organisational goals and KRAs suffer as a result. Without meeting one another, it is difficult to achieve balance and build deeper interpersonal ties. Online and Zoom talks lack the necessary connectivity and relationships.”
Despite the challenges, many people do not consider working from home to be a disadvantage.
Bitinning’s founder, Kashif Raza, tweeted, “Menial duties do not advance people in the job. They progress by exploring new and intriguing options.”
The elimination of the commute is one of the most significant advantages of working from home.
According to several reports, Indians commute to and from work for about two hours each day.
On the condition of anonymity, a unicorn employee says, “Not only does the travel make it stressful, but it also kills work-life balance.”
Another HR executive adds that it’s not only about the independence and challenge of commuting; it also opens up opportunities for hiring throughout the country and around the world.
They explain, “Applications and job chances were earlier limited for persons living in Tier II and III India. Many huge firms would not consider locations outside of major cities. The pandemic, on the other hand, has shattered traditional conceptions and borders.”
Work from home has given additional possibilities in terms of recruiting employees with diverse skill sets and degrees of knowledge, according to another startup entrepreneur.
The entrepreneur added, “As a result, a thriving and flourishing gig economy has emerged, in which people with good skill sets have recognised their worth and enjoy working on a range of projects. This works brilliantly for high-growth organisations looking at a variety of programmes and experiments.”
Many people discovered that, while it required some time to adjust, working from home resulted in a better work-life balance in the long run. Despite strong reasons to work from home, businesses are considering a hybrid model.
Another founder said, “Getting folks back to work will be difficult. However, a hybrid approach and making it work is a significant step forward,”
