The majority of people who have experienced a shift to more flexible work arrangements as a result of the pandemic want to continue to enjoy this flexibility. But what are the ramifications of this blurring of boundaries between our work and home life?
It has been good news for us and our economy that we’re living in a time where technology has allowed so many of us to do our jobs remotely. This would not have been possible for most of human history. People are clearly appreciating being able to work from home. A recent global PWC survey found that only 10% of surveyed workers wanted to return to traditional work environments, with most respondents wanting a mix of face-to-face and working remotely to varying degrees.
However, with this shift we need to consider what is working in our favour and what isn’t. As restrictions in Greater Sydney lessen and we start to open up, it’s a good time to reflect on some of the pros and cons of three of the major work changes we’ve seen as a result of the pandemic.
1. Working from home
Pros:
- No time is wasted commuting.
- Ideally you can set up an environment that optimises your comfort and productivity without distraction.
- It’s easier to save money by eating from home and not spending money on work transportation.
- Less interruption from colleagues.
Cons:
- Many of us don’t have comfortable home office set ups and have had to resort to working from dining tables and garages.
- Home commitments are not out of sight and out of mind.
- Switching off our work brains is so much harder when our home space is also now our workspace.
- Our colleagues aren’t there to bounce ideas off.
2. Flexible work hours
Pros:
- The ability to structure your work hours around your home commitments to an extent.
- More opportunity to adjust how many hours you’re doing according to your workload and schedule e.g. you may do 10 hours one day and 6 hours the next.
Cons:
- Many people find themselves working nights and weekends.
- When the working day becomes less defined, switching off becomes harder.
3. Increased digital interactions
Pros:
- It’s easy to work remotely. More people wishing to keep their city jobs and move regionally are now able to.
- We can readily connect and engage with colleagues via video conferencing.
- Many companies have realised that excessive meetings aren’t necessary.
Cons:
- Technical issues – they’re frustrating and can be time consuming.
- Video conferencing and phone calls can be awkward and draining.
- Colleague socialisation is not the same, as anyone who has gone to farewell drinks over video conference will well know.