Because of the recent increase in the number of positive cases of COVID-19, the period for all Malaysians to stay at home can likely be longer. Because of that, all work, classes meetings, and any other events need to be done online. Working from home, it really sounds so easy to be done by many people. Little did people know, there are actually the cons of doing it especially for a long period of time. Undeniably, there are also pros as well.
If you recently joined the ranks of virtual staff due to the pandemic, your visions of the remote-working life may have been dashed by reality. These are actually the pros and also cons of working from home for all people worldwide.
Pros
1) No Commute Time Or Expense.
You can save a lot of money and avoid wasting hours spent getting to and from work when your office is right down the hall. Avoiding traffic battles tops the list of benefits for some of those who work from home. Many remote workers also mentioned saving money by eschewing a pricey professional wardrobe unless they meet with clients.
2) More Flexibility To Take Care Of Appointments And Errands.
One of the hardest things about committing to a 9-to-5 desk job is that it prevents you from being able to handle almost anything else that comes up in your life, whether attending a routine dentist appointment or picking a sick kid up from school. When you work from home, while you still have to meet your deadlines and be available when you say you will be, you generally have wider bandwidth to tend to other responsibilities without jeopardizing your job.
3) Can Often Do Your Work When You’re Most Productive.
When you work in an office, your schedule is rarely your own. Between the aforementioned interruptions from colleagues and meetings, plus your boss hovering nearby with agenda items and to-dos, accomplishing your focus work may be a “catch as catch can” situation, grabbing time to think and compose important reports and communications between events that others have imposed. It’s still always essential when working from home to be mindful of your team’s needs and be available to dial in for virtual meetings. But remote employees generally have greater latitude to select their time of peak productivity to do their most important work.
Cons
1) Easy To Misread Cues Via Electronic Communications.
While few who work from home expressed feeling “lonely,” as is typically assumed, many did point to the difficulty of getting the tone right through digital communication systems, such as email, chat, social media, and text. Without body language, facial expressions, and other cues, remote employees have to put in extra effort to maintain positive communications.
2) Less In-Person Contact With Co-Workers.
While you may have more time with loved ones when working from a home office, the flipside is less opportunity for face time with people at your company. If your co-workers drive you crazy, then reduced time on-site might be a perk for you. But if you enjoy office-based camaraderie and like to be able to socialize with your team in person, then remote life might make you miserable.
3) No Physical Separation Between Work And Leisure Time.
Many who work from home lamented that they often find themselves working around the clock since their labor has no definite start or end times; those lines can often be blurred. As a result, they sometimes feel as if they are always at work, making it difficult to shift to the post-work relaxation mode that many office workers take for granted. The absence of an obvious division between the personal and professional realms means some remote workers get distracted by housework. Setting boundaries and sticking to them is important when you’re working from home.
Sources: U.S News.