WFH, is it a myth to let go or a productive changeover to hold on to?
The work from home (WFH) module has been in existence for a long time, but as an option and not by force. The pandemic has driven many organizations to adapt to WFH for the safety of their employees. But many would wonder if this would have been possible about a decade ago when there were restrictions with in-home internet connectivity? Until employees were asked to work from home, we were not aware of the immense advancement in networking technology and why businesses didn’t think of this option before. Yet one has to wait and see if the WFH bubble is a myth or will be busted sooner.
The introduction of vaccines and adhering to a mask lifestyle has reduced the fear of the pandemic and people have started to lead a so-called normal life. Organizations are calling back employees to work from the office. However, data scientists at Ladders, insist that the trend is here to stay for some more time. The projections have it that in North America, professional jobs will be remote till 2022 and the remote working opportunity is bound to continue till 2023. The remote work opportunities have increased to 15% and this is not hyped.
Is WFH permanent?
The Owl Labs in the year 2021 came up with a State of Remote Work Report after surveying full-time remote employees, where 74% felt that WFH is better for their mental health, 84% said remote working made them happier even with pay cuts. The survey conducted in January 2022 revealed that workers have become more inclined towards WFH or hybrid offices and are experiencing physical and emotional wellness. This report has thrown a challenge to employers to create a more conducive and accommodative environment if they want their employees back at desks.
On the downside, employees continue to resign in large numbers and this has forced companies to rise to the expectations of their employees. Global Upside CEO Ragu Bhargava cites that those companies who consider remote working as unorthodox may have to risk losing their employees. It is time they evolve to stop losing staff. It is also believed that the workplace will never be the same again.
Myth or real
- If you feel WFH does not tantamount to working then wait until you read further. The Stanford University studies reveal that around 13% have shown increased productivity working from home. The study on call centre workers showed that employees take more calls from home when compared to their workplace.
- If you feel WFH means working anytime, anyhow, anywhere and in any wear, you need to be corrected. Pre pandemic, we have seen corporates embracing unorthodox work environments like café style workstations, work bubbles, etc. to break the monotony. Work setup is crucial for productivity and WFH means working without distraction at your workstation.
- If you feel WFH lacks discipline you need to be corrected. Anything is not okay in WFH. You have tasks to complete within deadlines, which mean you need to put in scheduled hours like it was in your office.
Despite so many benefits of WFH, there are some cons too and this is related to connectivity issues. People living in remote areas do not enjoy good internet connectivity and this leaves them behind with their colleagues when it comes to achieving targets. This is where SMOAD network solutions step in.
SMOAD for WFH
Home internet is generally consumer-grade broadband and does not come with adequate bandwidth or security features. To combat these challenges, robust, secure and affordable WFH internet solutions are offered using SD-WAN. SMOAD SD-WAN comes with app prioritization and split tunnelling to route traffic in the best path available over, LTE or broadband.
With SMOAD you can create a micro-branch inside your home that comes with an inbuilt firewall, 4G LTE and broadband aggregation, auto-failover, IDS/IPS, Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), content filtering and more.
What more? You have the option to pick and choose the security features and all this at affordable monthly subscriptions.
Whether WFH is a myth or not, SMOAD WFH solutions are sure to provide a seamless working environment for homes, making it a real transition to maintain business continuity during testing times or otherwise.