Work from home — a once sought-after perk is now mainstream, but is it here to stay in Asia?

 

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed everything. Hitting “reset” has never been this instant — “work from home” has rapidly escalated from one of many remote work options to “the remote work option.”

 

A Gartner report states that 88% of organisations have encouraged or required their employees to work from home and 91% of teams in Asia Pacific have implemented ‘work from home’ arrangements since the outbreak.

 

If you’re a professional in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia or India, employers everywhere are beginning to understand that remote work could work given the right tools and environment. However, some industries are not built to work remotely. Nearly 38% of workers in “management, business and financial operation occupations” report doing some or all of their work from home, making them the most likely to transition to a remote working lifestyle compared to others in supply chain, manufacturing and healthcare.

 

What will the future of remote work look like in a post circuit-breaker world? Will companies in Asia go back to “business as usual” and require that everyone work onsite, or is the pandemic the tipping point that finally convinces employers that flexible work is the way to go for the long haul?

 

Here are the pros and cons of working from home and how we think remote work can change the way offices function for better or worse.

 

The Cool Benefits of Working From Home

 

#1 Optimal Work-Life Balance

 

Whether it’s balancing school schedules, having time for your kids, medical appointments, and errands, attending an online fitness class in the morning, or even being at home to fix your air-con can all be done a little more easily when you work from home.

 

This control over your work schedule can be invaluable when it comes to attending to the needs of your personal life. Work-life balance feels achievable and this means that employees can start and end their day as they choose, as long as their work is complete and leads to strong outcomes.

 

#2 Saving Money: Less Expensive Lattes & Lunches

 

People who work from home half time can save between $2,000 to $6,500 a year. Gas, car maintenance, transportation, parking fees, a professional wardrobe, lunches and lattes bought out, and more can all be reduced or eliminated from your spending entirely.

 

The buck doesn’t stop at the employee. According to Global Workplace Analytics, a typical company can save around $11,000 per year for every employee who works from home at least some of the time. Fewer people in the office means that physical offices can be smaller, saving money on rent. For some businesses, it might be possible to do away with the permanent office setup altogether.

 

#3 Less Commute Stress

 

Wasting time commuting is just one of the downsides of getting to and from work. More than 30 minutes of daily one-way commuting is associated with increased levels of stress and anxiety, and research shows that commuting 10 miles to work each day is associated with health issues like higher cholesterol, elevated blood sugar and increased risk of depression.

 

Ditching the commute helps you support your mental and physical health. The time savings can allow you to focus on priorities outside of work, like getting extra sleep in the morning, spending more time with family, getting in a workout, or eating a healthy breakfast.

 

#4 Happy Employees

 

A new workforce survey found that employees are happier now than before COVID-19 struck. More than half of employees (54%) revealed in a new May 2020 workforce survey from CNBC and SurveyMonkey that they are “very satisfied” with their job due to flexible work hours, compared with 47% from the last time the survey was conducted in December 2019.

 

On top of this, giving employees the ability to control their own schedule and work conditions has been demonstrated to lead to greater job satisfaction and commitment, and lower turnover, all of which saves employers both time and money.

 

The Not-So-Cool Benefits of Working From Home

 

While there are a lot of pros to remote working, there are also a number of disadvantages, and proper management of these downsides is crucial to its success, for both businesses and employees.

 

#1 People Need People

 

One major downside is the lack of human interaction when working remotely – some studies have shown that, over time, employees can feel socially and professionally isolated. Even with internet access and tools like Slack, you might still develop “cabin fever” from being in the same place for too long all by yourself.

 

To manage this, companies can require or encourage regular in-office meetings or get-togethers. During the pandemic, while people are forced to work from home, many managers have started regular ‘social’ meetings such as engaging in quizzes, sing-alongs, games, shared online meals or other non-work activities.

 

Some industries also benefit from the regular, informal knowledge sharing that can come from people being able to drop in with co-workers to chat and share ideas on the spur of the moment. Studies have also indicated that people who work from home may also be less confident in their career than in-office employees. This may come from feeling ‘out of the loop’ and being disengaged from day-to-day decisions.

 

#2 Distractions Galore

 

You may plan on quickly doing the laundry, go grocery shopping, clean the house, and maybe watch the newest episode of your favourite Netflix series? Potential distractions are everywhere when you work from home. It really takes a lot of discipline to focus on your job and get things done.

 

It’s especially hard if you have very young kids, who don’t understand that they can see you but you’re not available to play. Repeatedly saying, “no, I don’t have time now” is painful. This video on BBC perfectly explains the challenge of working from home with kids.

 

#3 Keeping Up Productivity

 

Companies also need to develop ways to monitor workers without becoming too intrusive. While some have used draconian measures, such as accessing employee webcams to make sure they are working, for this to work in the long term, less intrusive methods will be needed.

 

It won’t be such a bad idea if companies may consider investing in specialised training sessions to help workers to maintain productivity at home and develop healthy practices, such as getting some exercise each day.

 

#4 The Overworked Employee

 

One of the reasons many managers don’t approve of remote work is they fear employees will slack off without that physical, in-person oversight. But, in fact, the opposite tends to be the reality: remote workers are more likely to overwork. When your personal life and your work are both under the same roof, it’s harder to switch off.

 

“When does the work day start? End? Creating a hard line between work/home is tough,” says author and coach Jeff Gothelf. And if you work in isolated conditions, he adds that you might be in never-ending sales mode, which can be exhausting.

 

For Better or Worse? A Final Word

 

Though the pandemic may have been the catalyst for remote work for many millions of employees around the world, it’s far from the only reason to work from home.

 

The current period could make work from home (albeit not enforced and not on the same scale as now) a more acceptable option for some employees in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and India, cities where many people have traditionally eschewed remote working.

 

If you are a professional looking for a remote position or a company looking to hire remote workers, get in touch with us at The Edge.