Remote Work: The Boon of 2020
Recently, we came across an interesting survey on “Returning Back to the Workplace.” We also conducted a similar survey on Remote Working some time back in order to determine how well our workforce had adjusted to the new normal and also to ponder on what else could we chip in to make “working from home” in the times of corona, stress free. Most of the answers were pointers that we had successfully managed to adapt ourselves to the WFH scenario and were quite comfortable with it too. It is safe to say that our employees seemed to enjoy the new normal. Read more on how we made that happen:
We found out that the most attractive incentive of working from home (in such uncertain times and otherwise), was that one was spared the daily cumbersome commute to and from office, especially in a city like Bangalore. There was extra money in hand which was earlier spent on commute and daily expenses. More so, for all the employees living away from their families. Most of them returned back to their hometowns because location was no longer a constraint. There was an assurance of being safe and not being at the risky end of the spectrum, given the pandemic. We also had amazing stories pouring in from employees who began focusing more on their health thereby turning their life 180 degrees for the better.
On probing more, it was clear that our employees were in a better head-space, were not as worried about their and their family’s health and safety, had improved sleep, were availing lesser leaves and most importantly, were happy! Young and old alike, could now live with and take care of their families and devote those 2 extra hours spent on daily commute, to something more meaningful. We all voted enthusiastically for flexibility in our working hours and location, over a strict routine, in the survey. Our employees were much more motivated and came forward to shoulder added responsibilities when allowed the freedom to device their own timelines.
So, the next question was whether we would like to return back to our offices or rather, are we, as an organization, willing to acknowledge the extended benefits of WFH for our employees or prefer to overlook the same. Certainly worth considering. So, what did we do? We extended the benefit of remote working as a permanent option to all our employees!!! Now that’s something! Now, all our employees can choose remote working as a way of life. They can decide how they prioritize their work or how many hours they work. They can opt to work at their optimum potential and finish the assigned tasks before deadlines and take the rest of the day for themselves or they can even juggle between work and home simultaneously and maintain a perfect balance between the two. They can even choose where they live! (long cherished dreams of a condo by the beach or a farmhouse outside the city, could now be seriously considered) They can also opt whether they would like to return to their desks once, twice or how many ever times in a week to cut the monotony. Our employees have the power to steer their daily life at their will. Remote working has been the most powerful benefit we have ever extended to our employees. For us at appveen, Work From Home has opened up newer dimensions of flexibility and we have rightfully extended that to all our employees.
