Game To Work From Home

There was a time when the workplace comprised of only one thing i.e. work, work and work! You signed in at a particular time and left at a given time. Coming late to work was a major faux pas, taking half a day off was like committing a grave sin, and taking a whole day off during the week could was even worse.

That was in the dark ages, however today things have changed with workplaces becoming relatively chilled out places. Employers have turned relatively humane giving up their Neanderthal personalities and way of thinking. No longer do they believe that work can only supposed be done at the office, or that flexi-timings are a curse and fun and workplaces do not go together.

Times are a changing and working from home is considered to be one of the best concepts to be implemented, as the workplace becomes more virtual than ever before.

However, the question is, is a virtual workplace better than a personal workspace?

Disappearing act?
Workplaces have become more virtual than one could imagine. Organisations are incorporating new trends like tele-commuting, flexi-hours, work from home etc. etc. to make their employees feel more comfortable with work.

While, physical presence at work is always considered to be a positive sign, according to experts employees are becoming more ‘virtual’ to the workplace.

Vineet Aggarwal, Executive Director, Transport Corporation of India, says, “The virtual workplace is a reality today, owing to the Internet and high-speed, instant access to messaging and information. More and more employees are working from home, as companies downsize the work area and cut overheads. Employees benefit by being able to avoid the daily commute to work and the time and trouble it takes to prepare for work, too.”

While, the idea of working from home is till in a nascent stage, organisations are opening up to the idea of incorporating these methods to help their employees. Experts are of the opinion that giving an employee his / her own space helps him / her get comfortable with their job.

Subodh Mishra, HR- Head, Department-Asian Heart Institute adds: "If, an employee is working in his / her own surrounding either from home or is tele-commuting, it helps him / her work in a relaxed environment with the family. Also, there are possibilities that an employee working from home could be more effective in his / her performance due to external distractions”.

Sanjay Khendry, Vice President Marketing & Business Development Sierra Atlantic adds, allowing employees to tele-commute helps reduce employee stress levels, including allowing them to have a life outside work.

“It also allows employers to make more space in an office for their new employees,” he states.

Against The Tide?
While, experts and organisations are accepting the concept of a virtual workplace, most of them believe employees work better in an office environment, since it offers them more ‘contact’ with work and business clients.

Concurring, experts prefer employees to work from office, as they believe tele-communting only works for a short span of time.

“A virtual workplace may lead to a sense of isolation, especially from corporate culture and you have a danger of being forgotten when it comes to some of the juicy assignments. The lack of inter-action with colleagues, not taking coffee breaks with them and not getting involved in office gossip can all become serious impediments to integrating with a team.

The most obvious fall out of such a situation is that your ability to work with a team gets reduced, and you are critically never invited to celebrate team achievements,” explains Sharad Heda, COO, Microland.

Apart from missing out on the corporate culture, an employee’s presence in office helps him / her clear any doubts he / she may have with immediate managers or other team members.

As well, the physical presence of an employee in a workplace acts a psychological comfort to the employer / team head rather than a necessity and most of the employer’s say that they prefer having their employees in the office rather than have them sign in at work virtually.

Debasis Chatterji, Director, NetXcell explains: “A personalised workplace is always preferred as all the employees can work together as a team by helping each other.

It also helps with communication with the team members and helps the employee to clear questions that run through his/her mind during various projects. Employees will be more disciplined, as they would be accountable about their work and time in office.”

Unequal Equation
While, the debate regarding a virtual workplace or a personalised workplace rages on, experts believe in the long run, neither of them will go out of fashion, with more and more organizations becoming virtual in the in the near future.

They add that even if an employee is not at his / her desk during work hours, work would carry on without getting affected.

“We are going to see an ‘in-between’ model of work that offers a balance between the two extremes of virtual workplace and formal office. Work will be farmed out (out-sourced) to clusters of people working from remote locations.

I believe that ‘clustering’ is one model that works well, small teams or clusters typically tend to perform better and stay more motivated, they easily produce a sense of camaraderie and a cluster is in a flexible, self-correcting environment, so work does not suffer,” says Heda.

While it’s obvious what works for one industry might not work for another, both formats have been accepted. Employers feel comfortable allowing their employees to be non- existent from the work place, as they feel giving them their space is important so they feel comfortable with their work and deliver on the trust reposed in them.

On the other hand, they prefer nothing better than having their employees present in office, right under their nose where they can keep an eye on them.

So, while employers are prepared to pamper their employees to extract the best out of them, it is possible that those employees, who have opted for working from home, may soon miss the daily routine of getting dressed to go to work, gossiping at the water fountain or catching up for coffee. It may feel good to work from home for a while, but sooner or later, coming to office on a regular basis is what 98% will opt for. It is women with young children, who will benefit the most from being able to work from home.

This option comes at an opportune time for India, as it too could have found itself in the same dilemma many western countries are beginning to face i.e. an aging population and not enough youngsters to replace them. This is a situation that is the direct outcome of women joining the workforce, only to sacrifice marriage and children for a career and higher incomes. Though India could do without adding to its population, yet if outsourcing to India continues to grow, it is these same numbers who will ensure India remains the favourite outsourcing destination.