WFH: An Essay
by Kho Lazaro
With all the threat looming around the world brought by this COVID-19 pandemic, the world was flipped a total 360 degrees. Gone were the days when people can hug each other, walk hand in hand in the park, drink and party-out all night long, travelling, dine-out with loved ones, strolling and shopping with friends and other long lists of activities which involves social interactions with people. What we thought as long-lived and cherished moments may turn out ephemeral and be changed in a blink of an eye.
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Not only social aspects were greatly affected by this outbreak, political and even economic stability were thrown into disruption. More companies in the private industries took the big leap of adjustment and embrace change as they shift workloads from conventional working in the office to working remotely.
It has been more than a month into a nationwide work-from-home experiment with no end in sight as to when will be back in normal, whatever boundaries set between work and personal life have almost disappeared. People are really trying to cope up in this kind of new work setting.
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With so many workers suddenly working from home and juggling multiple responsibilities along with the stress this pandemic entails, an employee might experience difficulties and burnout even working at the comfort of his home. Ironic as it may seem, but it is true. I, too, experienced dilemma in this new set up. Here are few:
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Missing Social Interaction
Work from home means working in isolation with no colleagues around. No seatmate to share your thoughts with, no friends to ask help regarding technical issues and all. At this time of pandemic, we are all required to self-isolate which adds stress to our current work routine. If I may say, having chit chat with friends destress us in way we can’t even imagine. The sudden shift to working remotely somehow affects employee especially those who get used to working in the office, having colleagues around to discuss issues or share a thought or two.
One can easily beat this feeling of isolation through getting connected via social media platforms. Constant communication is the key. Though the feeling of attachment is incomparable when you meet your colleagues or friends face to face but this may do for now. After all, we are left with no choice.
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Boundaries Disappear
Leaving the office and commuting home sets the boundary of your work and personal life. While losing commute and experiencing heavy traffic jam when working remotely can be seen as an advantage, this also means losing barriers between office and work.
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In the case of work from home, if you never really shut down or log out from your computer you can easily continue working round the clock. Sometimes, you lose track of the time when you really are in the momentum of your work resulting to over work. While it can’t be seen as total negative, however, we must not forget that we should take a rest especially at this time that getting sick is really not an option. Having full rest really matters for a healthy body.
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To avoid working around the clock, you have to establish clear cut-off time for when you will stop working. Define a clear goal of what to finish and prioritize things of importance. Be determined to have it done accurately in a prescribed given time.
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Work-Home Interference
While working at your home avoid those stressful people in the office, it can’t be help that there are also few distractions present at home, be it food preparations, doing some urgent errands, helping family members, running in the markets to do groceries and some other few that is inevitable.
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However, dealing with these kind of stuff can be manageable. You can simply set up kind of signals that let others know when you’re in focus mode and can’t be disturbed. Losing focus is really big threat in losing your momentum at work. You may inform family members that all other house chores assigned to you will be done after work shift so you may not fall behind your target accomplishment set for the day.
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Moreover, you can ignore other non-related calls or chats during shift. And, when all else fails, try to find a perfect room or corner where you can have a quiet time to focus and get your job done.
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Communication Issues and poor Internet connection
Having a stable internet connection is the paramount of working remotely. Internet disconnections will really get you down on your knee in getting your shift done. Poor internet connections also entails disrupted communication and video conferencing with team mates especially on team meetings. I’m telling you, these situations are really inevitable. We don’t have control over this matter.
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I’m resolving this matter by having a back up internet provider such as mobile data tethered through my working laptop. This is the only option I can resort to when the main internet provider fails. You can only hope that both internet providers will not fail at the same time.
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Delayed Technical Assistance
Working remotely also means working away from technical personnel. So, when technical difficulties happens, more likely technical assistance or actions will be delayed. Unlike working on site, you can easily report technical problems to authorized personnel immediately. This kind of situation is inevitable too and there’s nothing you can do until technical personnel gets an action on your report.
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Try to fix the issues on your own to the best of your knowledge. If things don’t work, you can’t do anything but to wait. Also, you can try to do other work-related matters that doesn’t require internet connection just to be productive.
Lack of Motivation
Let us all be honest with this, sometimes you slack off when you work at home. The appealing sight of your bed and the frigid aircon attracts you to be demotivated with your tasks. When noon comes, it can’t be help but feel a bit sleepy. Having a good cup of coffee and listening to lively music may save you from sleepy mood. This has been tested many times and I bet this will work on you too.
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At this trying times, with all the problems being thrown at the world at once, the difficulties encountered working from home are petty and immaterial. You just can’t complain but be thankful for all the blessings and good things that came your way amidst this chaos. All efforts are appreciated especially those who took extra mile to show concern for the welfare of their employees.
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For the management of REPH, for being decisive and concrete in implementing work from home set up to most of its employees. A rational plan exhibiting care to its employees. The high sense of urgency of putting the safety of its employees as their utmost concern. Rest assured that you have our gratitude and integrity in all the work that we do.
At this point, we keep on wondering when things will go back to the way they were. We can only hope for better outcomes as the days unfolds. After all, we are left with no choice but to endure the pain for now and learn the lessons brought by these changes laid down on our lives.