The expansion of Work From Home (WFH) Concept with the Covid-19 Pandemic

(BBC, 2020)

As we all are aware by now the Covid-19 pandemic has effected the economy of the entire world regardless of size, location, stature or any other factors, every single organization around the globe has had to evolve in some way or the other in order to cope with the pandemic as such the Human Resource Management practices has also evolved together with the respective organization in order to overcome the obstacles associated with it, in this blog we will be going through the expansion of the Work from Home Concept as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic."

The extracts given below will emphasis the importance of the Work From Home concept.

"Do you want to access talent everywhere, or just in specific markets? If the answer is everywhere, you need to be at least open to the possibility of remote work." (Burke)

 “People are more productive working at home than people would have expected. Some people thought that everything was just going to fall apart, and it hasn’t.” (Zuckerburg)

Widespread of the WFH ( Work from Home) concept.

Before Covid-19 remote working or Work from Home concepts had a very small footprint in the corporate world especially in the developing countries, however with the Pandemic prompting social distancing, lockdowns, strict health guidelines & other restrictions the concept garnered a lot of attention in the world & through it the HRM sector began to promote the concept as a way of breaking the barriers set by the pandemic & engaging the employees from their homes. This concept has helped organizations to successfully navigate the obstacles of the Pandemic whilst driving organizational growth & productivity, at the same time this concept has also facilitated the employees to have more family time which will help them to enhance their Work Life Balance.

Benefits of the WFH ( Work from Home) concept.

  • Ability to achieve a better Work life Balance.
  • Increased flexibility of work schedules.
  • Less commuting required.
  • Saving overhead costs.
  • Ability to lead a happy & well balanced life.
  • Better employee retention ratio.
  • Ability to break geographical barriers.
  • Staff motivation.

Drawbacks of the WFH ( Work from Home) concept.

  • Some less technologically inclined staff may find the concept hard to adopt.
  • Distractions by family.
  • Difficulty to monitor the staff.
  • Staff could feel isolated by to the lack of interactions.
  • Lack of infrastructure.
  • Risk of information security.
  • Decreased productivity due to the various distractions.
  • The WFH concept might not suit every job role or company.
Conclusion.

In conclusion we could say that the Work From Home is nothing new to the world & has been around for several years however the implementation was among only among a very select few organizations, whereas expansion of the Work From Home concept around the world occurred as it was the need of the hour with all the restrictions on companies & negative effects of the pandemic on the world economy at the same time we could observe both benefits & drawbacks of this concept, however the introduction of the work from home has introduced a new chapter in global employment & Human Resource Management facilitating the employment beyond boundaries & geographical limits which is a positive trend & I am confidant that many of the organizations will continue to carry out this technique even after the effects of the pandemic has worn out.

References

BBC, 2020. BBC.
Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-politics-53722622.

Burke, K., HubSpot

Flex Jobs, 2021. Flex Jobs.
Available at: https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/benefits-of-remote-work/

nibusinessinfo, 2021. nibusinessinfo.
Available at: https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/content/advantages-and-disadvantages-employees-working-home

Zuckerburg, M., Facebook.

 

Comments

  1. D.I.KanchanaAugust 27, 2021 at 11:07 PM

    COVID-19 forced companies all over the world to send their employees home to work virtually. The global response to COVID-19 has resulted in the most rapid workplace transformation. Working from home has become the new normal, and we've progressed from digitizing the firm-customer relationship to digitizing the employer-employee relationship.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jude Shannon LucianAugust 27, 2021 at 11:13 PM

      Exactly! The WFH concept has expanded to all parts and now it’s an extremely important part of our corporate world. Thank You Very Much for your valuable comment

      Delete
  2. Oshadha BandaraAugust 27, 2021 at 11:47 PM

    Work From home (WFH) is a concept where the employee can do his or her job from home. Work from home gives flexible working hours to the employee as well as the job for the employer is done with ease. Add in the lack of a commute, and remote workers typically have more time and fewer distractions, which leads to increased productivity—a huge benefit of working from home for both employees and employers alike. When done right, remote work allows employees and companies to focus on what really matters—performance.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Bhashitha Dissanayake August 28, 2021 at 12:01 AM

    The COVID-19 outbreak has made working from home (WFH) the new way of working for millions of employees around the world. Due to the pandemic, many workers and employers had to switch, quite suddenly, to remote work for the first time and without any preparation.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nadeeshan MadusankaAugust 28, 2021 at 12:36 AM

    Some employers have found that working from home has provided them with the flexibility they need to keep their businesses running while also prioritizing employee and customer health and wellbeing. Working from home was on the rise before the coronavirus epidemic, as many firms recognized the benefits for their businesses and a better work-life balance for their employees.

    ReplyDelete
  5. blogs of UMESHAugust 29, 2021 at 5:28 AM

    The attitudes and policies of organizations toward WFH have an impact on the productivity of their employees. Employee productivity increases when they believe their organization trusts and cares about them and provides them with training, good project management, and adequate resources to complete their tasks on time. It has a positive impact on employee productivity when employees do not have to waste time, money, or energy on transportation between home and office. In my point of view, But this method cant apply to every organization, there has some restrictions.
    Nice article Jude.

    ReplyDelete
  6. M.JanarthanAugust 29, 2021 at 7:26 AM

    Home working opens up a new range of possibilities for the way businesses can work and structure themselves. With the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, home working has given some employers the flexibility they need to continue their business operations while prioritizing staff and customer health and well-being as part of their public health responsibility.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Rukmali FernandoAugust 29, 2021 at 9:45 AM

    Work from Home is a concept associated with programs that support employee health balance in the organizations. The policy is designed to provide more flexibility for their employees to help employees balance their roles in and out of work (Olson & Primps, 1984). From the HRM point of view, implementation of WFH arrangements, is considered to have a positive effect on work attitudes and behavior. With Covid 19 pandemic almost all the organizations around the globe had to adapt WFH practices.

    ReplyDelete

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