At Home Working

When work from home (WFH) came my way. It brought along a series of mixed reactions. My Parents thought this was a subtle way of the company to make me redundant. Work from home will gradually become work for home was their fear. The educationalists in my circle were thrilled, as they saw an opportunity for me to prepare for higher studies. The newbie mothers, were jealous, they so wanted this option. As for me, I was too busy adjusting to the new working environment for thoughts to prevail.

WFH is an extremely prevalent concept in the west. The idea behind this is that the employee stays at home and logs in the companies network using a mobility client. Once in the network one is able to do work in the same way, as one would have done sitting on the office desk. Myriad of tools, supporting web dialogue providing audio, video and desktop sharing options help create a virtual conference room. The beauty of these virtually created meetings is this that the interaction seems face to face. The web enabled tools and applications allow you to login from anywhere and at anytime. Online trainings and seminars help you to be up to date with all the recent advances in your field.

It is a win-win situation for all. While the employer saves on office space, the employee escapes from the travails of long commutes that have become inevitable in today’s metros. On personal grounds, even after clocking in 9-10 hours a day for work and sometimes more, time is no longer a constraint for me. I have ample of time at my disposal to pursue my personal interests. The best outcome from this is, that the parameter to rate me as an employee is solely my performance and my timely results. Sycophancy, long ideal work hours to impress the boss and indulgence in office gossips no longer come into picture. Of course, I do miss the water cooler talks and the team lunches but the pros overshadow the cons in this situation.

An idyllic condition as it seems, definitely has its own teething problems and gives occasional hiccups. Power cuts, fluctuating bandwidth, slow upload and download speeds, insufficient backups are the main deterrents. If, we overcome these problems then it will be a blessing for millions. IT industry would be able to increase its reach in the interiors of the country without much investment on space. The job market will open for many women professionals, who left their budding career to start family. Opportunities will arise for the physically challenged who find it tough to commute on a daily basis. The power of work from home is available to all; it is on our discretion to unleash it.