Will Work From Home Work?
Before the Covid-19 pandemic which struck the world at the beginning of 2019, work from home was only an option for those with pressing personal commitments or logistical issues. Mainstream, it most definitely was not. How quickly times have changed! Today, Work-From-Home (WFH) is the New Normal and the accepted order of the day. Given the never-before scale and demands of this phenomenon, Corporate Citizen speaks to corporates and professionals from various fields on how they are maximising productivity and minimising glitches despite several challenges. From tweaking home spaces to suit work purposes to walking the tightrope between family and business, they are doing it all with tons of creativity, plenty of positivity and panache. Amidst all this, the learnings have been many and the reflections worthy of a book
WFH has been productive
"In the New Normal, WFH is the best option for a seamless working culture. What is interesting to note is, now it’s not just Work from Home but the scope has been widened to working from anywhere"
- Natwar Kadel
BUSINESS CONTINUITY
The New Normal has definitely changed the way work is perceived and carried out. Remote working has emerged as an answer to the worries of business continuity. The pandemic has made the corporates more open to the concept of remote working but it also has brought in challenges that often revolves amongst the availability of proper IT infrastructure, security threats, data threats, communication and much more.
The manufacturing sector has always been unenthused to the concept of WFH due to its sheer impracticality in the application of jobs that need the intervention of factory-like setup. But the intensity and speed in which the processes were streamlined for making remote working possible to some extent, is definitely something to watch out for. Business Continuity at the time of pandemic was a major cause of concern wherein factories around India stagnated at zero or nil production with fewer people coming in. At the same time, there were also challenges which required immediate attention such as giving adequate support to the health of the employees both at a physical and mental level.
RISING UP TO THE OCCASION
In my role as the Head of ER Function at a manufacturing industry, my number one customers are the People. Hence, it is imperative to be at the workplace, in order to ensure smooth operations and business continuity by engaging constantly with the umpteen number of stakeholders involved. Adding the commute time of 2-3 hours to and fro the workplace, there was a pressing need to be on the toes - 24/7 and working round the clock with warranted presence. This required unwavering commitment and challenging mind set of rising up to the occasion.
OFFICE SPACE-HOME AREA
The main priority behind arranging the WFH setup was aimed at enhancing productivity and to create a work atmosphere in confines of the home. It started by the basic yet important need of having a dedicated workspace with reliable connectivity. The dedicated workspace was attributed only to work-related purposes. This eventually created a proper demarcation from office space and home area. It was also ensured from my side to take adequate breaks to prevent any burnouts.
NEWFOUND FLEXIBILITY
At the very onset of WFH, the amount of work I needed to work upon, had to be structured in a proper timeline, just like the way it was done if I was working from the office. In the beginning, it was challenging not to extend the work timings beyond the office hours. Some days, I used to work continuously for the entire day. But by doing this, I realised that the aspect of newfound flexibility of doing work from home should never come at the cost sabotaging the personal needs. I began by properly planning the schedule and aggressively sticking to it at any cost. Having an appropriate schedule at place determines the structured flow of work, targeted results to be achieved and monitoring the non-completion of determined tasks.
WFH PRODUCTIVE IN ALL ASPECTS
On a personal level, WFH has been productive in all aspects. It is also imperative to note that such work setup will be productive only with proper discipline and integrity that one individual has towards the work. The concept of someone supervising is mellowed down but that should never mean that the work in itself has to be compromised. Self-monitoring is an important factor that decides the timely completion of tasks and productivity.
WFH PROS AND CONS
In the New Normal, WFH is the best option for a seamless working culture. What is interesting to note is, now it’s not just but the scope has been widened to working from anywhere or in other words, Remote Working. The reason for preferring such work option is the amount of flexibility of doing work, increased levels of productivity and efficient use of time wasted on commuting.
Having said that, the new normal also brings in a set of challenges, such as lack of peer to peer engagement and loss of human touch leading to isolation and other mental health problems.
NATWAR KADEL, Assistant General Manager, Hyundai Motor India Ltd
By Rajesh Rao
Missing the personal touch
"Working from home because of Covid pandemic was a need of the hour, however, from my personal experience, in the long run, it can’t become new normal, as it has its own demerits"
- Shantanu Bhamare
ADVANTAGES OF HAVING A WORKBENCH
Before we started WFH for our team members, things were different. We being a product engineering company, we follow Agile Methodology, in Agile Delivery there is something called as a Workbench, it means all the team members of a project would seat on one a large table as against having separate cubicles so that there is a strong collaboration between Scrum Master (Project Manager), Leads, Development Team and QA Team. There is one more advantage of having a workbench since everyone is seated on one long table, there are no time killers like WhatsApp, Internet, chit chat etc.
Since everyone is in office in an Agile environment we have something called a Daily Stand-ups, in this daily Stand-ups meeting, every team member updates on three things: What did they do yesterday? What will they do today? What impediments or blockers stand in their way? In our company, we also used to have Senior Management offsite meeting to discuss company strategies for next year in the month of September or October.
We used to celebrate birthdays. All team members would assemble together, cut the cake, give greeting cards to the team member and have lunch together. We also used to celebrate corporate anniversaries, marriage anniversaries, etc. There were team parties after achieving a certain milestone of the project. We used to celebrate all the Indian festivals throughout the year. Finally, we used to celebrate Grand Annual Bash in the month of December, wherein all the employees of the company would spend quality time together along with their family members
FOR A PRODUCTIVE WFH
Being a part of the senior management team, I am an essential staff of my company, hence, I opted to work from the office so that I can take care of issues for my team members since they are working from home. As per the government directives, we allowed team members to work from home since March 2020. We first took a survey of all the employees what infrastructure they have at home like laptop, internet, etc. Based on the information we received, we formed batches and rolled out working from home in batches. Who didn’t have the infrastructure at home they got some time to plan and acquire it.
To make WFH productive, for my team members as I have explained earlier, we have Daily Stand ups, wherein every team member gives three updates. Apart from it, I used to check with my team members whether they have any personal challenges at home front since they are working from home. Many team members were struggling between office work and personal challenges, so we were giving them emotional support and showing empathy to them.
On every Friday, I am conducting virtual party cum stress buster for my team members and its rules were everyone’s video should be on so that we can see each other; everyone has to have either tea, coffee or some drink during this meeting so that together we all can do ‘cheers’, no talks about project work, all casual talks and asking well-being of team members.
WFH, PRODUCTIVE OR UNPRODUCTIVE
Pros it is productive in the way team members have now flexibility of work hours. They have to complete work assigned for a day on the same day. Someone may start work early in the morning, someone may work late at night. Then they can take breaks as many they want. Also, because of working from home, I have observed team members are working for more hours compared to the hours they were putting in the office. Most of the team members are working from their hometown, which is a very good opportunity for them to be with their parents / families. Since team members are working from home, organisations are saving huge cost on the operating expenses (OpeEx) and further to this, many organisations have left their lease offices, so there is a huge saving on office rents.
Cons since all the team members are working on the same project, there is definitely an interdependency of each other’s work. Hence, what if someone likes working early morning and other team members have not yet started their work, and for the team member his / her work can’t make progress unless other team members complete their work. Since team members are taking as many breaks as they want, what if some team member requires help from the person who has taken the break and is not available to answer queries or questions.
Since team members are working from home, and my customers are from the USA, they reach out to the team members late at night (because for them it’s morning) and ask them to work on a few things. As a customer I am getting advantage of it, however, for the team members, they have to sacrifice on the family front and work on the customer requests, invariably this is increasing a lot day by day. This is certainly not good for my team members or any employee of any company.
Because of working from home, many of my team members are struggling between office work and personal challenges, some are losing their temper, some are changed their behaviour and attitude completely.
WFH AS THE NEW NORMAL
Working from home because of Covid pandemic was a need of the hour, however, from my personal experience, in the long run, it can’t become new normal, as it has its own demerits. To add to the list-face-to-face interactions are more live than virtual meetings and from face-to-face meetings we get more positive vibrations than virtual meetings. Secondly, if some team member does good work in a project, I generally give a pat on the back, which is not possible in a virtual meeting, you cannot replace the same feelings. We are missing on the personal touch, like eye contact with your team members and body language.
SHANTANU BHAMARE,
Global delivery executive, entrepreneur, thought leader, management and leadership Guru, BI & advanced analytics and data security and privacy expert
By Rajesh Rao
Yoga classes on Skype
"Some of my students urged me to switch over to online classes. That compelled me to woo technology"
- Sunita Rane
Teaching yoga through the little cyber windows where she can see her students following her instructions, Sunita Rane has admirably developed enough room to counter restrictions of space of a public hall where she took yoga lessons physically to 50 odd students, before the lockdown. Her metallic voice and aura of positive energy exudes through the cyberspace, enough to inspire her students to actively follow her instructions though they are not physically in front of her.
Sunita Rane, formerly an officer with the Maharashtra Co-operative Bank was looking out for a creative outlet, to overcome the humdrum of her banking job. Being an athlete since childhood, the idea of becoming a trained yoga teacher appealed to her. Her cousin brother, a well-acclaimed yoga teacher himself, gave her the idea. She signed up for the Diploma in Yogic Education course of the Padmashri Sadashiv Nimbalkar’s Yoga Vidya Niketan, a premier training institute for Yoga in Mumbai. This is a one year Yoga Teacher’s Training Course and certifies you to become a professional yoga teacher.
YOUR YOGA CLASS BEFORE LOCKDOWN
I used to conduct my yoga classes at a public hall in Andheri in Mumbai, since last July. I had 50 plus students and used to take three sessions a day. Earlier to that, I used to do one-on-one sessions with one individual, a couple or a family. After the lockdown, the classes came to a halt.
YOUR YOGA CLASS NOW
For two months after the lockdown in March 2020, I didn’t even think of conducting classes online as I was not comfortable with the idea of teaching through a laptop. However, some of my students urged me to switch over to online classes. That compelled me to woo technology and my son helped me as I was not at all techno-savvy. I began with classes through Zoom. Some people said it’s not a good idea to use this app so I switched over to Skype. I conduct it in one of the rooms. Ours, being a nuclear family, there is no disturbance at all. I am very grateful to Guruji Sadashiv Nimbalkar, as his course laid a strong foundation for me. The training included a lot of theory work and even writing of a thesis on one particular topic. Hence, it is a comprehensive course. It was convenient for me as it was an evening course for two hours during the weekends. I was an officer at the Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank. But I felt stagnated there. My cousin, who is a well-acclaimed yoga teacher himself, suggested I do this course. I love nature and whatever we do in yoga, comes out of nature.
ON ONLINE YOGA AS A PERMANENT SOLUTION
I think I prefer physical yoga classes as you can see if students are following my instructions accurately. Through Skype, you are unable to see each and every student. Hence, I make it up by ensuring that I keep repeating little details of the Asanas so that students follow it to perfection. Now, I’ve started-one-to one online classes for specific ailments like diabetes and neurological problems.
IMPORTANCE OF YOGA, POSTCOVID-19
Generally, breathing is very important, as oxygen directly goes to our brain and activates the nervous system. When neurons work properly, there are proper hormonal secretions from our various glands. If the pituitary gland, thyroid gland and other glands function well, automatically all your hormonal secretions will be proper. Pranayama improves your structural balance. Asanas are also important but for those who cannot do yoga, they should sit on a sofa and do breathing exercises, joint movements and omkar meditation.
SUNITA RANE, professional yoga teacher and former officer, Maharashtra Co-operative Bank
By Vinita Deshmukh
Endless tryst with work
"Post pandemic, the workplace quotient has completely changed and I work from my ‘mini office’ set up at home. I have replicated my mini office arrangement with exactly the same ambience as that of an office cabin"
- Arindam Ghosh
THEN AND NOW
Life before the pandemic was de rigueur as with most of the working populace. A 10 hour physical presence at work interspersed with an outstation tour or two every 30 days across India was the accepted ‘normal’. Travel was but necessary as ICA Edu Skills has operations in almost all states in India and specifically at remote locations within individual states. Post the Covid-19 outbreak, the workplace quotient has completely changed and I work from my ‘mini office’ set up at home. I have replicated my mini office arrangement with exactly the same ambience as that of an office cabin housed within a separate room altogether. In fact, when I am at work, the door remains closed; the door and wall of the room being soundproof offers some sanity.
PUNCTUALITY QUOTIENT
I have set the first norm of punctuality well ahead of other norms and that holds for the entire organisation working from home. Employees were asked to mark their attendance from the human resource information system (HRIS) driven attendance marking system. The system captures the time clocked in and other processes that ensures easy management of human resources.
DRESSING UP OR DOWN
For web based external meetings (not their own staffers), I wore formals with tie sometimes, in the ‘new’ world. This helps to build an office like psychology where a relaxing attitude has no room to rule. In the ‘old’ normal, when there had been no web based conferences, a T-shirt and a trouser did suffice, of course, we don’t encourage wearing bermuda or sleeveless shirts under any circumstances.
STAY OR ‘NAY’
Despite the necessity and the comfort underlying a ‘work from home’ culture during the pandemic, I definitely do not advocate a permanency in this ‘status quo’. Had this not been the norm, there would not have been a call for such requirements as I believe that for all the roles in our profession, there is a certain necessity to commute to the office and render our services. The idea is to hone and better manage self by managing the team requirement and therefore, an appropriate physical presence in the office.
I WOULD CLEARLY DISTINGUISH THE MERITS OF A ‘WORK FROM workOFFICE’ AS:
- Physical presence with employees creates a psychological edge which keeps people focused on work with low vigilance via Web.
- Offers a clear distinction between leisure and work.
- With everyone under one roof enables management to help people visualise the ‘oneness’ within the unique culture that underlies every firm. It becomes easier for management to boost employees too by engaging them completely within a single workplace.
- Demarcation and clarity in separating “home life” and “work life” is possible.
- Offers ‘human connection’ by having coworkers physically around, which is important as it enables developing a synergy that adheres to work protocol, discipline and culture.
- Overall, the organisation’s core value, mission and vision are well visualised by a group of people when they are physically together and also led by their seniors when connected face-to-face.
- In the process of capacity and competency development training and learning, “Classroom based training” (CBT) holds advantages of monitoring the learners. CBT is required for training need analysis for a trainer.
BEYOND THE WORK-FOLIO
The new normal enabled ample time to be devoted to the office which became endless. While there was no to and fro commuting from office to home and vice versa, there was also zero physical presence with the internal office crowd. However, I steered myself well in the home office situation as my biggest blessing was that there had been no negative influence from home. Despite the fact that I have a one year and 10 month old baby at home, my better half has been aptly managing my son throughout and has provided me with ample opportunity to concentrate on the work front during the crisis time.
Yes, there was a lot of household work that I had to attend to due to the dearth of maids since the onset of Covid but we planned ourselves well, so that my office work during office hours was not hampered at all.
ARINDAM GHOSH, CHRO, ICA Edu Skills
By Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar
Home is office so be at home!
"A hybrid approach would be ideal in the future, specifically for our industry where we are aiming to create a conversation"
- Minal Drozario
MY SON’S ROOM: A COLLABORATIVE SPACE OF SHARED COMFORT
Our current office is a very collaborative and self-sufficient space. It has great natural light and enough room for each one of us to focus on with some areas dedicated for complete cut off from distractions. Talking specifically about my cabin, it is a minimal and a comfort space shared along with my Co-Founder Aniruddha Bhagwat.
When the lockdown was announced, getting the schedule right was most important, as juggling with my son’s school time to my husband and mine, we needed to ensure we gave each other space to be comfortable. I chose my son’s room as my interim office space or my balcony, as it had the appropriate infrastructure for being able to plug in, natural light, and comfortable furniture. It is also one of the rooms which does not have constant walk-ins of various people throughout the day. Thankfully, as it had already been set up for my child as a study area, resources like the printer, plug points, a space for writing pads and documents were in place.
DRESSING UP FOR THE PART: YES, IT COUNTS
I was fascinated by the idea of being able to work in any attire in the initial days, but quickly came to the realisation that my productivity or approach to work seemingly changes when I’m dressed for the occasion. Hence, while the early period of the lockdown started off with shorts and t shirts, it gradually progressed to more formal dressing eventually, as I had to take part in video meetings as well. The challenge was to ensure that I maintain and sustain my work timings, whilst simultaneously managing and coping with my son’s studies and housework, so all of this did take a lot of energy and time through the day. But dressing neatly and smartly for work definitely makes a difference.
LEARNING CURVE
Understanding the nature of my work focused on consumer insights and communication, it does require a lot of thinking and a collaborative approach towards work. I found it great initially, as once the direction was given, the team could focus on the results, and I could focus on more important aspects of the business. But, constantly being on calls through headphones and not being able to have the liberty to communicate when an idea strikes was a difficult task. I have a 12 year old son and an energetic yearold golden retriever (a young and mischievous animal), so it was more of a problem for my pet to hold on to his excitement around the meetings and calls than my son. My family understood the importance of lesser distractions during my work. I think what was more difficult was when we all three (my husband, son and me) were on calls for our respective reasons. Work from home has been a learning experience for various reasons such as understanding time management, spending time with the family in our otherwise busy schedules, making an effort to identify your hobbies and pursuing them for enhancing your creative passions, and mostly managing with what you have and being happy. I am back in the office now, but I have gained some great learnings, which will better our work culture in the future.
A HYBRID APPROACH FOR THE FUTURE
I have been coming to work for months now, while our team has been working out of the home. I feel the culture and exposure does take a hit when working out of the home. Virtually, you need to be planned and stick to a structure to make the most of the time and also attention span of the people which is an advantage but the expression or emotion is, often, not understood. A hybrid approach would be ideal in the future, specifically for our industry where we are aiming to create conversations.
MINAL DROZARIO, Co-founder and Director, Ideosphere Consulting
By Kalyani Sardesai
Syncing space with work dynamics
THEN AND NOW DESIGNED FOR THE FUTURE
Virtual working was massive experimentation for our business as it was for every other business involving its own set of learnings. Our office design is very modern that actually supports key working modes for an employee – productivity, privacy and creativity. The design space encourages open conversations and fosters conversations which facilitated learning amongst our team members. Balancing the needs is the key to building a conducive value system within any office culture, hence, I believe that it is the cultivated social environment that has built strong relations amongst our team members.
The pandemic disrupted this social environment at work. While the work from home (WFH) set up has not increased or improved productivity as such, it was a steady flow of tasks. Despite the inevitable changes to work life, my own ‘home office’ desk and space enabled me to stay focussed.
HELP SUSTAIN MY FOCUS AT WORK
I wanted my work station at home to compensate for the dynamic vibes at the office. I, therefore, have set up my WFH desk overlooking an inner road in my locality. By doing this, I felt this was the best way as it gave me an ample amount of natural lighting and a view with open space allowing the flow of open thoughts and ideas.
While I set up my work from the home zone to cater to my mental frame during the pandemic, I also desired modern functionalities that enabled comfort levels as well to help sustain my focus at work.
I spruced up my workstation by adding a whiteboard, a printer, and an adjustable lamp. Once the restrictions were lifted, I bought a swivel chair that made sitting for long hours a comfortable experience. I also added some wall art to decorate my interiors, so as to mimic a part of my workspace akin to my ‘real-time’ office. This helped soothe my eyes and also helped to re-adjust to the WFH scenario.
PUNCTUALITY QUOTIENT
I worked on maintaining a routine on workdays. Along with this, I would start my day and wrap it up like earlier times, to maintain the worklife balance. Work calls, virtual team-meets, and Zoom calls happened within this time. As regards dress code, being a tech company, we followed casual dressing at work even in the post-pandemic days, which has remained constant.
STAY OR ‘NAY’
To maintain some mental sanity and decorum, I would clearly emphasise the ‘back to office’ mode. I believe ‘work from home’ has its greater challenges, especially, in the context of our business. Some pitfalls of the WFH scenario are:
- Brings with it a host of other problems such as bandwidth, and network issues; also data security issues.
- The lack of interaction and physical presence has brought to the fore the necessity for face to face discussions, to ease out the pressure and help become more productive.
- The added challenges of managing kids and home responsibilities.
- Has triggering influence on stress levels, which undoubtedly can rise with higher periods of confinement.
BEYOND THE WORK FOLIO
I live all by myself with my pet and the only new responsibility was managing the cooking and cleaning during the lockdown. An important revelation whilst taking care of my pet was that it does demand considerable time and more.
KAUSHIK SHARAF, Founder and CEO, Cymatic Edutech
By Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar
Working from home is time saving
Choosing a pretty space close to nature
Like most others, I worked from a fully furnished, well equipped office cabin in Vikhroli before the advent of the pandemic. On the other hand, my Work from Home office is a pretty space as well and is surrounded by mountains and greenery. I like to work from there as I feel connected to nature. There is extended electric connectivity, a charger and a stand for placing my legs.
Special arrangements include an office chair I bought for the purpose. I use a laptop and iPad to attend multiple calls via Microsoft Teams.
DRESS CODE, YES. MANDATORY? NOT REALLY, EXCEPT IN SOME SITUATIONS
Though part of Mahindra Group, we are wired as a startup company and believe in extending more freedom and space to the team. Sure, we provide company logo printed T-shirt to our employees. But we do not mandate them to wear the same. We allow employees to wear smart casual dress, e.g. jeans and T-shirts. They can pretty much wear anything provided they are not attending one to one video meeting. In any such video meeting, one is expected to be in smart casual. Across the board, we encourage our team to present themselves in a similar manner. In any case, I only insist on the camera being on during an interview with a candidate. Otherwise, during calls, only the speaker keeps both camera and audio on.
A FEW HITS AND MISSES, BUT OVERALL, WORTH IT
The new phenomenon of working from home, despite the adjustments it’s entailed, has resulted in me saving two and a half hours of office commuting time. That’s a significant amount of time. I am thus able to utilise it better in reading and writing articles.
Managing the supposed invasion from family members was not that tough to do as my children are grown up and my family is considerate and co-operative. As a result, my own productivity has gone up. But yes, I do miss the bonhomie and get togethers with team members that we all used to enjoy. They were a wonderful part of work life that most of us would miss.
That said, I would nevertheless prefer to continue to work from home. The time saved can be better utilised for creative and productive work. However, I would like to travel for client meetings. Also, a periodic get together with other colleagues would be great.
SANJAY JHA, CHRO & Senior VP, Business Development & OEM Relations, Mahindra First Choice Wheels Ltd.
By Kalyani Sardesai
Did everything to recreate the live vibe
The lockdown has changed the way people work. We have been forced to work from home and adapt to the new normal. But in no profession is this change felt more starkly than DJing. DJs thrive on the reaction of their live audience, and they mix and match music based on the real time response they perceive from the crowds. DJ Piyush Mehta, a popular DJ in Pune, shares with Corporate Citizen how he has adapted to the change brought on by the pandemic, and how he spruced up his music setup to entertain audiences from home.
The pandemic changed the way DJs worked fundamentally. Even today, things are a long way from normal. The last event that I did was in Holi, just 2-3 days before the lockdown began. The entire world has been affected by it. You couldn’t crib, cry or complain. All you could do was wish that it gets over soon.
SETTING UP FROM HOME
In the first 21 days after the lockdown, it was almost like a holiday or a break. When the lockdown was extended further, we realised that this is not going to end anytime soon. We had to figure out what to do. Music is a part of everyone’s lives. A few people in countries like Italy started doing music online. Then a lot of big international names started doing the same. I decided then that I should also do the same. A lot of people wanted to go online, but there is a lot of cost involved as well. You require infrastructure like fast internet, consoles, OBS and a lot of such technology, which is required for a work from home setup for a person in the music industry. It took me a few weeks to understand the economics of it and install them. But I made the change and I began to entertain people online.
JAZZING IT UP
In preparation for working from home, I got a console. I also got a new table for it. Then I realised that we needed a green screen in order to animate the background and inset images to liven it up. I put up an entire green screen wall. Then I got in touch with another person to get a new camera for better image quality. I created a separate work station because the feed had to run parallelly through a software called OBS. We also needed a soundcard as well as a video graphics card. We were thinking of putting up noise cancellation panels as well but decided against it as it would have become quite expensive. My fiancé is a music producer and a well renowned DJ as well. We already had a room in our apartment which had been converted into a studio room a while back. That too proved handy.
We tried doing everything to recreate the live vibe, and to convey the feeling that needs to come through when you are playing live in front of a lot of people. Initially, I was clueless because there is nobody in front. It took me a few weeks to understand and master how to infuse the energy that is needed in a performance.
DJ PIYUSH MEHTA
By Neeraj Varty
My outlook towards life has changed
A BIG CHANGE
As a sales professional, working from home was never an option earlier. For me, working from home was a complete change in my work life, from a complete field job and meeting clients and colleagues, mostly in person. For the kind of industry I am a part of, it was necessary to keep in touch with my clients and colleagues through video chats and daily online meetings. Based on this priority I decided to plan my work from home (WFH) arrangements.
I wanted a completely dedicated space for my work, which was not just a work table but a workspace which would give me a feeling of “At Work”. I was stressed on how to do this but my family supported me to repurpose, rearrange and reuse what’s already there, which could get my required work space ready. I had to upgrade to the latest trending technologies for remote working. WFH was not possible without a new advanced Wi fi router, new high quality web cam and my new favourite TWS earbuds etc.
Also, I had to upgrade my skills in presenting and using various software and new online communication platforms like ZOOM, GoTo Meeting. I am a minimalist and have adopted a clean interface for my workstation. Well, even after all the arrangements, the WFH concept was still difficult to be implemented for all my activities. But within a span of two months, I saw WFH becoming a reality amongst all the people from every sector. It was now I could concentrate on my health and a stable routine and soon the daily challenges at work seemed quite easy to handle.
A NEW PERSPECTIVE
WFH has changed my outlook over life completely. I no longer live on a plane and or am away from my family for weeks on end. Now, I am working continuously from home and the telephonic discussions go on till late evenings. I have started to have food on time which I could never do earlier. I have to now focus on presenting plans and proposals in a completely digital manner which are easily explainable. It is not running a whole day for meetings but planning a whole day for various “online meetings”. Altogether, WFH is a quite good experience since nine months.
LOOKING BACK
But I miss my office and earlier work life. Certainly, I’m not enjoying my work life fully as I did earlier in the pre pandemic period. I feel isolated and alone and lack enthusiasm sometimes. According to me, meeting new clients in person and representing proposals has a much larger impact and satisfaction instead of online communication.
ROHIT JOSHI, Senior Sales Marketing Executive, Sara Mechatronix
By Neeraj Varty
Bedroom is my new workspace
WORKING FROM OFFICE
Before the pandemic hit the globe and the lockdown was announced in the USA, I was working in Seattle, WA, USA. We had a shared office space called WeWork with designated workstations with a moving desk and a monitor. To help manage the work hours, we used coffee to maintain focus and productivity. There were coffee stations on every floor and for every department. Since I love coffee, it helps me enjoy my day at home.
NEW WORKSPACE
As soon as the lockdown was announced by the Government, me and my wife adjusted to the work from home scenario within no time. I have converted a bedroom to the new workspace. Having the entire room to myself is pretty advantageous. I can concentrate for long hours and put in more hours on work as compared to working from the office. Plus, there is no disturbance of any kind since we two of us are working in our own bedrooms. As I live with my spouse who is also working from home, we understand each other’s work regulations and respect it.
There is no hindrance when it comes to working in the new normal. As the work from home is the new normal, my organisation provided me with a laptop and widescreen monitor and I decided to buy a moving desk, which helps to multitask. Things get easy when you have a widescreen monitor.
NEW WORK CULTURE
Being in the IT industry, I can work from home or anywhere in the world without any drop in productivity with high speed internet of course. I consider myself blessed to be working at such times, especially in a pandemic where millions of jobs are lost over the world. My near and dear had to face the brunt of pandemic induced lockdown, resulting in job loss. Regarding internet connectivity, as it is extremely crucial for the sector that I belong to, here in the states, I did not encounter any problems regarding the internet connectivity of any kind. Considering this new workspace, I can get more work done and due to the backlit monitor lights which I bought to create that work atmosphere in the room, I feel more creative.
WORK LIFE STEADINESS
I don’t mind working from home, and I love it for various reasons. I get to spend more time with my wife. No need to commute for work, no travel related stress, and as a result, my sleep schedule is normal. Work from home has given me time to work within the deadlines and also have a strict fitness regime. I start my workout in the evening for about an hour. In the near future, I fancy permanent work from home arrangement where I get to work from the home and travel to the office if necessary.
SAGAR KHASNIS, Solutions Architect, Amazon Web Services
By Vineet Kapshikar
Working from home in style
Let’s face it! We can’t run away from the fact that we’d have to work from home for months to come. And if we are doing so, why not work in style? The impact of Covid was huge, but we are quite grateful that we are still blessed with all the essential during such time. As my husband and I recently moved to a new house, there wasn’t much furniture; owing to which our workspace was our living room. Attending meetings at the same time was becoming challenging. And suddenly having a dedicated workspace became the need of the hour. We have a 4-bedroom house, and so we converted the smallest bedroom into our workspace.
JAZZING IT UP!
We went with our instinct and filled the room with vibrant colours. A teal couch with some bright coloured cushions and a beige sofa throw, a lively floor mattress, a few posters here and there, a bright mustard coloured chair, a lamp and of course, the office essentials the room’s vivid palate reminded me about how beautiful my work and personal life is. The room took shape within three days. I purchased a few things online and when the lockdown was eased down, we made trips to the local market. Having a big desktop was indispensable. We brought one which suited the room. We envisioned our workspace to make us feel comfortable and confident, and I am glad that this room makes me feel so. As we work from a separate room, there are no distractions, and this helps me get a lot of up work done.
KEEPING IT COOL!
Being a morning person, hence, I get done all the chores and exercise done before starting with my work. Keeping my comfort in mind, I prefer to keep it casual; jumper, shirts with denims, are a few attires which I normally don while working from home. Working from home has its benefits. I certainly get some free time to get things done, but I feel this sometimes take a toll on your tasks. I feel going to the office does give you a better routine and purpose for the next eight hours. However, if the work timings keep fluctuating till late night, which is alright at times, but if this continues it may impact one’s health.
WHAT A ROOM!
The room is special to us for many reasons. I owe it the good vibes of the room that helped me bag a job with Optimum Credit amidst the pandemic. Just before my interview with the present company, we set up this room. And through an online video interview, I got placed with them. Courtesy of my well arranged room, and my hard work, I was able to get a job during this uncertain time. Most of our meetings take place via video conferences. My colleagues are quite impressed with the room’s layout. And the compliments that I receive motive me to work hard and surely it puts a smile on my face. This makeshift work from home arrangement has had a positive impact on me. It has not only improved my productivity but every morning I get up with a bright smile knowing that I’d get to work from that room.
I am getting used to this new routine, however, we need to remember that humans are social animals, and they need face to face interaction to sustain. And much as our physical health is important our mental health is important too. Keeping all these things in mind, moving on I would like a flexible working condition where we can work from home for two days and operate from office for three days.
ANKITA SAREEN, Test Analyst – Automation Engineer, Optimum Credit
By Ekta Katti
WFH blossomed my creativity
No doubt the outbreak of Covid has taught me the importance of empathy, but most importantly, it has helped my creative side to blossom as well. Just after the lockdown got over, I rented a new apartment in Andheri, Mumbai. It was a spacious three 3-BHK apartment, which I shared with two more friends. I feel fortunate enough to be employed during such times. Before creating a workspace in my room, I used to work right from the comfort of the bed or I used to lay a cushion down on the floor with the laptop on my lap to complete my tasks. At times, to fresh up my mind, I worked from my living room. Right from working from a well designed office to working from the comfort of my house, it was indeed a great shift for me. Until the space became boring.
WELCOME TO MY ABODE
After a month or so, I was done working the way I was – no proper arrangements, no tables and no newness made me dull and lethargic. Before setting up this room, I did complete all my assignments and work, but I wasn’t happy with the whole setup. Now that we are supposed to work from home for months to come, I decided to revamp my crib and to give it a wholesome look. Art is close to my heart, and in fact, I have started a business on the same lines. My first task was to create a wall art that defined my persona – lively yet calm and composed. I created a doodle that resembled my feels. I have affection towards the environment and music. To think eco friendly, I created my room with the things I already had in hand. The subtle yet quirky colours of the wall art depict that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and soon we will get used to this change. With a help of a carpenter, I built a floor table. A few throw pillows along with a couple of other knick knacks and cute planters, and viola, my room took shape into something that made me complete. And so, I finished created my new home within a home.
LOVE THY WORKSPACE
The direct sunlight brightens up my room and the art on the wall makes me realise my passion. I created this space within 26 hours and I saw the results instantly. I am focusing more on my work and my productivity increased leaps and bounds. As I don’t have a fixed schedule, I start my day as per the deadlines. Although ours is the corporate industry, we are given the liberty to wear casual attire, but during video conferences, I don a business attire. As I live with a roommate who is also working, we understand each other’s work regulations and respect it. There no hindrance when it comes to work. Courtesy of this workspace, I can get more work done and due to the aura of the room, I feel more creative.
THE RIGHT BALANCE
Since the time we are working from home, the pollution levels have dropped. However, it took away the human connection we had from the outside world. See, I don’t mind working from home, I love it for various reasond. But going forward, I want a flexible working system where we get to work from home for four days, and for two days we travel to the office if necessary. I guess this is what will maintain harmony.