The pandemic undoubtedly has been among the most devastating episodes of the 21st century. Millions of people have lost their loved ones and for the more fortunate, it has robbed us of interactions and the freedom of traveling. Yet, among all those apocalyptic scenarios, the future post-COVID seems a little more hopeful as people’s well-being is now the priority for corporates who want to retain their talents and universities their students. This comes with our own self-care voucher – the working from home (WFH) permit.
The benefits of hybrid working
Ever since the pandemic, hybrid option – alternating WFH and working at the office – has been on the rise as it provides flexibility for both workers and students. According to a recent survey by Gartner , 90% of all HR leaders plan to offer partial remote working option for their employees and many companies, including PwC and Forbes, think it’s unnecessary for employees to be in the office 5 days a week. This permit can help maximize both well-being and productivity as study shows working efficiency can increase by at least 20% and the number will increase if we can choose when to work from home. For students, studying online partially can help avoid driving through a blizzard for a 50-minute morning class or save us the excuses for swollen eyes from a bad breakup.
By no means should we ignore the consequences of prolonged home lockdown such as burnout, blurry professional and personal boundary, and social isolation. These downsides can affect our communication skills and in certain settings, team conflict may even find the opportunity to rise. However, as the majority has been vaccinated, hopefully the WFH option will no longer be forced down our throats but now considered as the happy self-care escape.
So when and how should we flex on this permit?
Planning WFH schedule beforehand can help you avoid procrastination and other bugs such as noisy neighbors or family members. The first step is to track one’s own working patterns and pinpoint distractions to avoid. By doing this, one can devise the tasks one thinks will be most suitable at home such as analyzing research that requires deep concentration in solitude or crafting the perfect emails to reply to your partners or professors. What about the perfect time to actually show up? A literature review indicates that working remotely impairs collaboration and communication with your colleagues so in-person work is best for important meetings, discussions and when one wants to enhance team performance. Or simply when one needs the motivations to grind thanks to the ‘social facilitation’ effects, the finding that people tend to work harder in the presence of others.
The last step is getting the approval nod from your employer or professor. However, after years of lockdown and restrictions, that may be getting easier as many companies as well as universities are willing to improve their working/ studying conditions and provide hybrid option. For students, even though there are no labor contract to support them, the professors will be more lenient if the students are upfront about it. Email professors beforehand to ask if you can attend the class online because you find it more efficient or better for your mental health to do so on that day. Make sure, though, you’re attending the class instead of sneaking in another hour of sleep. No pandemic can help you pass that course.