2 reasons I LOVE working from home 🏠
So for those of you NOT in Dubai, a bit of context: We started working from home back in March when Co-vid first hit and are continuing to do so.
And I absolutely love it.
If Co-vid has proven anything (other than peoples inability to wear masks properly outside and parents taking their less than a toddler out without one completely), is that nobody really needs a physical office anymore. And that’s OK. Initially I thought I loved it because I had already been used to a system of WFH but as time passed I realised it was actually for a completely different set of reasons.
Here’s why I 333.3% prefer Working From Home (WFH)
1. No commute time 🚄:
Everyday, it would take 2.5 hours total to commute to and back from home. That’s 2.5 hours less you’re spending with friends and family or working on your own stuff. Add in another hour to mentally switch from work mode to home mode AFTER you’ve got back, that’s 3.5 hours just gone 💨
With no commute time, mornings are more relaxed to make coffee, spend time with family and also get in another half hours worth of sleep.
It’s also quicker to switch mental modes after work’s done.
2. Personal work 💻:
This ties with the previous point but deserves its own. With no commute time, there’s more energy saved to work on my own stuff.
Since I’m done with work at 6 (or 7 now as timings have been adjusted) , I can get to doing my own stuff by 10 or 11 PM AFTER spending time with friends/family, going to the peacock park, napping (because that’s important!), dinner etc. This wasn't really possible before without tiring myself out. It was do-able but not sustainable.
I’ve also been reading a lot of articles on different companies working from home and why some people are for/ against the concept and the one thing I noticed was, the fundamental reason why some people were against it was because they felt that team-members would lose touch and that the “bond” would weaken over time without physical contact. And to be honest- that couldn't be farther from the truth.
When everybody’s working from a physical space together, they’re still working. And if you’re in the digital space- you’re going to be working on your laptop. Nobody’s going around touching each other and “strengthening the bond”. Also, if you’re not clicking with something within a virtual space, it’s not going to click in a physical space either.
With zoom video calls, chats, and socially distant outings outside of work actually happening more regularly, there’s a 99% perfect work/life balance achieved with a WFH system 😎
A second thing I kept reading was, people felt they were working longer hours and they were not able to dis-associate themselves. Honestly, this could be solved, by a simple tactic- say No. Unless it is a project emergency, plan your time estimates for tasks and flag those that go beyond when you’re supposed to switch off.
