Home Office – is it the long-term solution?
Work from home is, in fact, not the new trend as it has been already practiced by many freelancers and entrepreneurs for a long time. However, the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has forced employers to adjust their businesses to the restrictions and social distance, which contributed to making the home office a common practice. It is Only 15% of respondents who worked from home before the pandemic began. Over 70% of respondents have been working from home since 2020 and about half of all respondents state that they expect to work from home in the next 6 months. Over 30% of the respondents hope to work from home permanently.
Reducing the costs of renting office space is certainly a big advantage for an entrepreneur who has experienced the financial difficulties during the pandemic. Even the companies that have not been so affected by abrupt changes that happened in the world due to the Covid-19 pandemic are more willing to try different solutions concerning the work from home. However, it does not mean that the home office will completely reduce the costs of renting an office. As an employer, you need to provide your employees with a suitable workplace at home, for instance, providing them with computers or monitors and settling the costs of the internet and electricity.
According to the Statistica report, the main advantages of working from home include:
- flexible schedule
- ability to work from anywhere
- no need to commute
- great opportunity to spend more time with family
- possibility to work from home
The productivity related to working from home undoubtedly depends on different factors than while working in the office. The respondents agree that home office requires good organisation of space and time. When they were asked what advice they would give to others who start working from home, they suggested:
- taking care of work-life balance
- considering the social context (relationships with other employees)
- choosing a working place that is comfortable and non-distracting
However, not everyone knows how to find that balance. Some people find it difficult to draw a line between work and private life because their work space intermingles with private space. It is advised that an employer helps such employees, for example by providing them with a training course that explains how to adapt to the new working conditions.
It is possible that certain sectors of the market will benefit more from the idea of working from home than others. Those involving direct contact with another person or requiring specialized equipment, e.g. laboratory equipment, could not be performed in a form of home office. Professions that involve the usage of a computer are likely to be transformed to a hybrid or 100% home office work. Thanks to the development of technology, there are more and more on-line services that emerge on the Internet, e.g. online therapeutic sessions. This shows that we are going to increase the usage of technology in our work and the home office is going to stay with us for good.
Sources:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1111309/biggest-benefits-to-working-remotely/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1199110/remote-work-trends-covid-survey-september-december/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1111316/biggest-struggles-to-remote-work/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1220151/remote-work-private-life-boundary/
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