JAKARTA - Working from home may at first sound foreign to office workers. Generally, this system is only done for those who are freelancers or remote workers. However, since the COVID-19 pandemic took place, working from home has become a new thing that needs to be adapted for employees.
Reporting from Channel News Asia, Enable Group, a human resources consulting firm in Singapore, has been hiring its employees from home for seven years. Long before this pandemic came.
Working from home doesn't mean the time is more relaxed or the work is much lighter. For those who have never worked from home, this is a challenge in itself. But considering the current offices such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, they dare to decide to switch to working remotely (remote working) even after the pandemic is over.
So, is the choice of working from home the main one? For now, yes. Lawrence Wong, Singapore's Minister of National Development who stated that workers continue to work from home as an adaptation of the "new normal".
Companies have a responsibility to look after their employees. Moreover, companies must ensure the costs incurred and a qualified health system so that employees who enter the office feel safe.
Working from home also has its pros and cons. One of the advantages is that you can reduce the expenses that are usually used the most for transportation.
This was also admitted by Nessie, a management trainee at a bank. The challenge that many people experience is communication due to the lack of interaction with office people. He had just moved to a new division which required him to learn to adapt to new people, but this was less felt because he was working from home.
According to him, working from home has become a 'new normal'. Nessie said she got this from reading an article in which researchers stated 66 days is the time it takes to turn something into a habit. The activity of working from home that has been carried out for more than three months seems normal.
On the other hand, the disadvantages are the internet costs that must be paid for yourself and you may lose the social aspect while working. The office is not just a place but a way for humans to interact with others. This cannot be fulfilled when working from home.
"From a psychological perspective, the social interactions you get from the office are what humans need to function well," says Dr. Sam Yam, assistant professor at the National University of Singapore (NUS).
However, working from home doesn't apply to all industries, such as transportation and retail - they can't do it from home. For those who work from home, the challenges increase as it becomes difficult to meet in person.
There is a regular check-in where every employee notifies the achievements in work and the challenges faced. There are also focus groups that have been formed so that employees can be open about working from home situations. Communication is the main point that is encouraged to work efficiently.
How about your company? Is working from home the main option?
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