Office work from home was once anathema to not only employers but also to most employees. But under pressure to meet deadlines, even people in responsible positions had to carry files home and burnt the midnight oil. But that is like doing overtime. Doing office work from home is an altogether different concept. A service-holder does not have to attend office at the designated time and leave it at the closing time. Not only does s/he performs the assigned job but also participate in online meetings from home, courtesy of zoom video communications, Google Hangouts, Dialpad Meetings, Skype and the likes.
The majority of government office bosses, not to mention the owners of private firms or companies, certainly resent the idea of allowing subordinates the liberty to work from home. There are hardly any person at the top of hierarchy who does not like to have his/her staff members at the beck and call. Not long ago, when the modern devices did not dispense with hard copies of official files, even employees felt somewhat slighted if they were asked to complete the task at home. Many would boast,"I don't like taking office home".
Indeed, there were reasons behind the resentment to such infiltration of office duty into the private space of employees. There is allotted time for office work. So why should one take extra time at home when one is supposed to give time to family, meet friends, relations and attend functions or spend time for some form of recreation. However, some freaks or workaholics did not mind sacrificing their leisure and spare times at home in order to promote themselves or their organisations.
By now, those minds and mentality have gone through a quantum change ever since Covid-19 started its marauding march across the length and breadth of this planet. Situation was fragile and dreadful that the virus was everywhere to waylay anyone coming out or assembling with others unprotected. Even the known protection or stay at home was no guarantee for escaping the ubiquitously prowling virus. That enforced a compulsive home confinement and office work from home.
When human survival was at stake and death threatened to take over from every corner, this kind of arrangement was the only option. But still a few had to be in offices in order to supervise or distribute workloads. Overall, the office work changed forever. Work from home is no longer looked down upon. It must be noted that some of the world's top tech giants like the International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation, Google and Apple had allowed their team members unhindered liberty to perform their duties even before the pandemic. Nowhere in the world are employees given so much freedom to deliver what they are supposed to do. The result has been amazing. There is no one to do the bossing with the big brotherly watch over the performance but at the end of the day the output outpaces those of the staff where the office regime is strict and inflexible.
Sure enough not all people put in their best when they are given the liberty. In oriental culture, there is a casual approach to almost everything. The good thing is that the young generation is coming out of this lackadaisical mentality. They are ready to work hard in order to prove themselves. Work ethics has to be developed within the head and mind. It is self-respect that acts as the driving force to put in their best.
Where the perspective is creative, freedom is most essential. But how one would deliver depends on the inspiration one can command to be equal to the responsibility. If one is responsible, there is every chance that work from home can produce better performance than at office. It is because at home, one can have more time to ponder on the subject to be dealt with than in office. So, work from home certainly has merits but it is not for everyone---either because of the nature of work or for the inherent apathy towards work and therefore failure to respond to the call of duty.
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