Working from home: trading long-term damage for short-term gain?
The seductive lull of local minima
People have been able to work from home (WFH) for a while now. It was usually availed on an ad-hoc or limited basis. Then came the pandemic, and with that came lockdowns. To comply with directives, 5-day WFH came into existence. The pandemic persisted longer than anticipated. The interim measure soon became the norm. As the pandemic is “declared” to be over, there are calls for people to return to the office. This is proving way more arduous than expected.
WFH is convenient and suits everyone. But does it really benefit anyone?
Noble intentions
Around 15 years ago, offices supplied only desktops. There was no real concept of WFH. Gradually these were replaced by laptops. With this portability, remote work became possible. As software improved, secure connectivity became easier — going from tokens to seamless sign-on. WFH started to pick up. Around 4 years ago, many offices were changing their layout to “smart-spaces”, a nod to the idea that employees with laptops could work anywhere in the office floor, office building — or home.
Being able to work from home has many benefits:
- Flexibility
- Saves time wasted sitting in…
