In light of the global Covid-19 pandemic, many people found themselves locked in their homes. Some businesses closed their doors forever, while others are still trying to stay afloat, allowing their employees to work from home. How did this shift affect their lives?
The global pandemic has changed the lives of millions of people and their families.As employers are required to provide a safe workplace for their employees, large corporations have allowed their workers to move from formal offices to comfortable homes.
This change has made people more adaptive and creative. It promoteshome advancement and encourages build your own standing desk ideas for maximizing the capabilities of the working environment. How does the work during the pandemic look like?
What is Working from Home?
Work from home (WFH) is a working arrangement in which a worker carries out the essential responsibilities of his or her work while staying at home through communications and information technology.
Unlike remote working, it is a temporary alternative to office work.For such an activity, employers often provide their workers with the equipment, technology, and tools they need to carry out the required duties.
At the same time, it is an employee who has to adjust everything to the conditions in his living environment.Depending on the national law, the employees can receive injury insurance coverage if it is caused during working hours at home.
COVID-19: The Realia of the WFH Work During the Pandemic
A work-from-home mode a sort of challenge for people who work this way for the first time, full time, as they have to manage their work and family lives at the same time.
Thus, they faced the need to take some tricks to persuade their minds to keep their productivity at home workplaces:
- Keep up with the dress code. The change of your favorite pajamas to more formal clothes serves as a signal for your mind, encouraging it to wake up, think active, and stay productive. It is important to have a good appearance during work hours as meetings, conferences, and interviews have also moved from formal offices online.
- Designate home office/work area. Balancing your work with family life is no less easy than building an office at home. It requires the provision of the same level of comfort you have in the regular office.
- Inevitable home renovation. The workplace should be comfortable enough to sit in for eight hours. If you suffer back or neck pains, draw your attention to wise solutions allowing you not only to make use of little space but improve your wellbeing.Standing desks are one of them. You can build your own standing desk or purchase the one at the store online. These pieces of furniture can be used alone or with height-adjustable chairs. Add some technique to your working environment and enjoy your work without leaving.
- Adherence to the schedule.Keeping to clearly defined work hours allows you to recognize when you are required to stay productive or with family.
- Distractions avoidance. Taking several breaks throughout the workday is essential but mind keeping the focus on the urgent tasks. According to the research held by the University of California, it usually takes about 23 minutes to regain the lost focus. Try to stay away from home distractions while you are in a home office as well: you can clean the work surface but do not turn it into a global cleaning procedure.
- Communication with a manager, a project director or a colleague allows you to keep the feeling of being part of a huge team. Take virtual coffee breaks with your team, exchange your ideas and jokes as you were normally doing to maintain social contacts. This prevents the feeling of loneliness and, consequently, reduces the occurrence of depression.
Work-From-Home Lifestyle Changes
The pandemic reduced the number of jobs in formal offices, butthose employees, who managed to save their positions, now have to cope with blurring lines between home and work lives.
Changes in the lives of work-from-home employees during the pandemic:
- Increase in the length of an average workday;
- Greater autonomy;
- Better work-life balance;
- More emails/messages in messengers;
- More conferences and online meetings, which take less time under thehybrid mode;
- The lockdown allowed to create workspaces fitted with things that provoke clear ideas, motivate, and bring more productivity;
- Less time is required on commuting;
- Increased investment into ergonomic furniture and Bluetooth devices;
- The need to download advanced software to home computers for access to work files;
- Increase in motivation;
- More extra time on self-growth;
- Increased attention to the security of the data due to high risks of cyber-attacks;
- The employees schedule their lives.
Work and life will never be the same. Thus, whether small or big, businesses are now considering the WFH opportunities for a long-perspective period, adjusting their policies, infrastructure, and services for attaining productivity under unfavorable conditions.
