Is working from home bad?

I am sure many of you would ask this question to yourselves, especially when “work from home” is the new normal after the pandemic started last year. In the pre-pandemic days working from home was considered “taboo” in most corporate cultures and many CEOs would rather not encourage their employees to practice the same, I am sure still now this topic is worth debatable. But, the current situation might have opened new ways to many things in the world and even to the HR policies and hiring remotely. Let us see if we can answer this question.

I belong to Technology and IT industry and have been a part of some great companies and enjoyed the good perks of awesome corporate cultures, but work from home was still considered a necessary evil at times, perhaps misunderstood, it always fetched mixed reactions among managers and staffs alike. Now the pandemic has turned the table completely, and we don’t know when we can commute to the office as we used to do before, hang out with colleagues every Friday in that favorite bar, or go out for team activities, etc. But, do we really miss those days? Or working remotely brought new changes in every one of us to see it in a different way?

I have been working from home little over a year now and would like to share my experiences. The initial thought was a matter of concern especially when you are cut off from your regular routine from home to office and back, it was not just a system it was a way of life for many including myself, then the mingling with your colleagues and those interesting conversations over coffee looked a distant dream. Although, the latter was solved by technology the rest was a matter of time to get used to. Suddenly, waking up a little late and getting online just a few mins before time felt good, I was taking full advantage of saving the commute time if I say so, and still, I am. The meetings went virtual but did not divert from the effectiveness of it. Now I can see off my daughter to school and she can still see me when she is back home, something she always wanted.

As a Senior Staff Engineer, I have a lot to deliver so working from home will not spare me to relax, but what surprised me is that unknowingly my productivity has increased, and at times I could stretch one or two hours more than usual to finish my deliverables without getting fatigued, thanks to the home-cooked food I guess!, I could effectively cover a whole sprint worth of stuff well within the time. With technology and tools working remotely slowly became easier and convenient, all you need is high-speed internet. After all this, I could manage to save some time in the evenings for self-learning and family which was never possible after I used to commute back from the office draining all my energy on my way home. I eventually learned to maintain a work-life balance.

Well, the experts may tell a different story that prolonged working from home may destroy the corporate culture, or induce an inability in us to come and work from the office again. But, I feel otherwise, working remotely gave us the time and opportunity to rediscover ourselves, it introduced us to the other side of the coin, more or less we could give some time to family, do the things we wanted to do like I am writing this article after work and thought of writing more, learning new skills and upgrading ourselves, etc. When I take a moment and think what made me believe this way is the “adaptability” to the new changes in life, and to take the positives out of it. With this attitude anyone can disolve into any system we are thrown at. I am sure when we will go back to normal, people will see a better version of ourselves. I always follow a quote from my favourite martial artist “Bruce Lee” which is as follows, hope you can relate to the context here?

“Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.” — Bruce Lee