In recent days, the essence of WFH has pervaded many organisations and the workforce. While few people consider it a blessing, some find it incredibly difficult!

The reaction has always been mixed.

Like everything else in life, all options have advantages and disadvantages. I’d like to share some thoughts on these possibilities. Individual preferences may influence this.

Let’s have a quick look at how employees’ and employers’ perceptions differ when it comes to the pros and cons of WHO and WFO along with some general impacts of the same.

Employer:

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon stated, “This isn’t the new normal. It’s an anomaly that we’ll try to correct as soon as possible.”

WFH, in his perspective, was not sustainable, according to Barclays CEO Jes Staley.

“I am not a great fan of work from home at all,” said Infosys CEO Narayan Murthy, according to the Deccan Herald. “When people work from home, that institutional culture will slowly become weaker and weaker”, he added.

Mr. Murthy isn’t the first tech executive to voice his antipathy to working from home. Kunal Shah, the founder of fintech firm CRED, previously described working from home as “pleasant yet destructive”. “The impact of WFH on youth is comparable to that of home-schooled children”. There are no real bonds. There are no actual social or networking abilities. Understanding and learning are both illusions. There is no osmosis. “It’s convenient, but it’s also harmful in the long term,” he explained.

Pros & Cons of WFH

For Employer:

Pros	Cons
Reduction in infrastructure costs and fixed overheads	Monitoring employee performance
Savings on employee-related expenses	Impact on productivity, which could lead to a decrease in revenue
Conflicts between teams/individuals are kept to a minimum	Discrepancies in team communication & lack of team spirit
Limiting the spread	Employees taking advantage of flexible timing
Broader spectrum of recruitment	Keeping track of staff available during office hours
Higher staff retention	Security risk
Reduction in leaves

On the contrary,

Employee:

According to a survey conducted by the recruitment and staffing agency CIEL HR Services, at least 6 out of every 10 employees were willing to resign rather than return to work

Additionally, in response to Kunal Shah’s post, one of the users wrote, “That’s the kind of boss I want to avoid at all cost. It’s a very linear way of thinking. On the contrary, we are finding new ways to collaborate, we are spending more time with family. We can now focus on our bigger goals, and oohh… and health benefits on not inhaling pollution.”

For Employee:

Pros	Cons
Flexibility to work	No boundary time
Saving on travel cost	Over worked and stressed
No more stuck in traffic	Lack of human interactions
Time for hobbies and other interests	Emotional stress on being confined to home
Family time	Distractions like TV, movies, series etc.
Huge blessings for new mothers	Struggle of coordinating with team
Improved communication	Struggle of winning the trust of boss
Reduced changes of getting affected / COVID positive.	Extended waiting time
	Lack of cohesion among teams / co-workers

General:

Beside above-mentioned points there are few of the general instances which are exclusive of individual or organization but have a optimistic sight such as:

• Decrease in pollution level
• Less inhabitants in big cities and increased growth in tier-2 and tier-3 cities
• Real estate prices may become more reasonable
• Increased possibility of utilising the female workforce

It might make me look a little pessimistic but there are a few worrisome points like:

• Difficulty in operation of product-based organizations
• Virtual connections being not as effective as in-person connections
• Long-term interpersonal relationships getting affected

So, what is the right course of action for the future? What are your personal preferences? What is the best option for your company? What are the financial ramifications for a company?

Well, you are the most competent assessor of what works best for you and your company. Regardless of the option you choose, remember to address the shortcomings in order to bring out the best in each employee and create a win-win situation for both.

Importantly, go beyond the financial impact, since there are other humane issues to consider, such as employee mental and emotional stress. Demonstrate empathy. Because, Given employee and employer limits, it may be a good alternative in some contexts and for some firms, but it is not a long-term solution for all of us.