The Great Working From Home (WFH) Debate - Friend Or Foe?

One Sunday morning, I stared at a blank Microsoft Word page on my laptop, not knowing where on Earth to begin.

It was analogous to a blank canvas staring back at a painter in an intimidating fashion, inviting them to take their first brush stroke.

Still in my nightwear and twiddling my thumbs pensively for almost an hour, I began daydreaming out of my bedroom window.

Distracted by the view of the sun glimmering from the horizon of the sea from my apartment balcony, I thought that maybe I should have been walking on my local beach instead. After all, many people around the world symbolise this day as one of rest and recuperation.

However, I felt I needed to communicate an issue before the dreaded ‘writer’s block‘ grappled with my fingers and cerebral interconnectivity. It was an issue I had been ruminating over for the past few weeks.

Then, the warning bell rang on my laptop, indicating that I was due to teach an English lesson. It took me back to my days as a trainee campanologist, on a Sunday morning, when I attended relentless church services in central London.

Alas, I was reassured that the student had cancelled. So, thankfully, it was not my fault, for I had only annulled lessons at the last minute unless it was a dire emergency.

By the time I got this far, I had already touched my mobile phone 10 times. With self-diagnosed ‘NO-MO-PHObia’, I tried to ignore the constant ‘pinging’ from a friend asking me to join her for breakfast.

After all, I was working from home (WFH), so I made a lame excuse not to join her, turned my device to silent mode and continued.

So, What Exactly Is WFH?

Even before the pandemic, the concept of WFH was already on an upward trend. And I don’t mean being a househusband, I mean bringing your office into what was once your personal space.

According to a media release from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, a survey found that in August 2021, more than 40% of employed people were regularly working from home, up from 30% prior to the pandemic.

This was mainly due to trying to curtail the spread of infection, leading to a rapid spike in Australia’s digital economy. The pandemic forced an abrupt shift for a significant proportion of the workforce.

Organisations suddenly had to adopt alternative strategies to protect the health of their employees without a decline in productivity.

Though WFH may initially seem luxurious, is it really cut out for what it’s meant to be? From running around in a chaotic hospital environment to staying at home earning a living due to suffering from long COVID-19, among other factors, here I list 10 pros and cons of why it has been an interesting journey thus far:

Working From Home: Unleash Your Creative Dome

Flexibility: You have the freedom to be more autonomous, set your own schedule and work at your own pace as long as you achieve whatever needs to be completed.
No commute: You can save time and money by not travelling to and from work. Personally, I certainly do not miss driving in heavy traffic or being squashed in crowded public transport, feeling like an asphyxiated sardine.
Comfort: You can work in a comfortable environment that suits your preferences and nurtures innovation and creativity. That includes what you wear. You get to choose, saving you money on work attire.
I have attended several online meetings in a ‘W-W-W’. No, this had nothing to do with Tim Berners-Lee. It refers to my ‘Waistup-Working-Wardrobe’, which consists of a smart shirt and tracksuit pants.
Increased productivity and focus: Working from home can minimise distractions from garrulous colleagues who would rather engage in banter unrelated to work. We have all worked alongside co-workers who seem to interrupt us when we are in deep concentration.
Reduced office politics: In a previous role, I was subjugated to toxic hospital management bureaucracy, meetings and committees that I would often chair. Ultimately, many of them led to nowhere. You may avoid office politics and the associated stress and anxiety.
Better work-life balance: You can integrate work and personal life more seamlessly by not separating them. This gives you more time to spend with family, friends, and hobbies.
Increased job opportunities: Telecommunication has rapidly improved over the past decades, so you may be able to work for companies located in different cities or countries.
Improved physical and mental health: If you manage your time properly, you may experience less stress and better health. You can dedicate extra time to exercise and self-care activities, which will reduce work-related stress.
Access to more amenities: You can take advantage of your own kitchen, bathroom and other amenities without sharing them with others. This also means that whilst you are WFH, you’re also familiar with all the appliances that you are using instead of having to learn new instructions from what would otherwise have been your external office.
Environmental benefits: By WFH, you can reduce your carbon footprint substantially by not commuting to work. We’re all aware that climate change is a huge issue on the global political agenda, as per the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. Other than pedal power, skateboard or your own feet, you’re making a huge difference for the sake of our planet.

Working From Home: Domestic Distractions And Downfalls

Distractions at home: When faced with work you deem arduous or boring, it is all too easy to follow the path of least resistance. And before you know it, you may have wasted valuable hours talking to other household members, binging on TV or carrying out household chores.
The sense of isolation: WFH exclusively requires overcoming your fear of being alone. When I began my writing career, I suddenly became my own boss with nobody else to delegate tasks to. ‘FaceTime-itis” or ‘Zoom-itis’ is now being recognised globally as a poor substitute for human-to-human interaction.
Lack of social interaction: If you WFH exclusively, losing your social skills is easy. You may miss the social interaction and camaraderie of your workplace. If you’re one of those individuals who need to be constantly connected to the external world or are overly extroverted, you may end up creating a life of boring monotony around yourself.
Reduced motivation: Motivation is paramount if goals are to be achieved. Like most inanimate objects, humans, to a degree, obey Newton’s first law of motion, which revolves around the principles of inertia. With nobody around you, you may risk developing indolence or even ergophobia – the ‘fear of work’.
Reduced collaboration: You may have reduced opportunities for collaboration and face-to-face communication with coworkers. Tea room talk can be viewed as a healthy hiatus from your working day. You may miss colleagues challenging you on topical issues by the water cooler. After all, who doesn’t welcome healthy debate? I welcome being made to see the world from a different perspective. Otherwise, I risk developing an opinion that may be deemed radical or biased.
Difficulty separating work and personal life: You may find it hard to separate work from personal life, leading to overwork or burnout. You may even harbour guilt for taking breaks or time off. Even the ex-prime minister Boris Johnson once commented when he was appointed the Mayor of London during the 2012 Olympics that WFH was the “skiver’s paradise“.
Reduced feedback and supervision: You may have reduced opportunities for feedback and learning from others. Regular performance appraisals are key to your ongoing personal development.
Inadequate access to resources: You may have reduced access to resources like printers, high-speed internet, scanners or other office supplies. And if you run out of something or aren’t an IT guru, it’s unlikely you have a well-stocked stationery cupboard or a technician who can come to your rescue at the last minute.
Reduced professional development opportunities: You may have reduced opportunities for training or professional development. Unless you regularly chat with your employers, if you have one, you may have limited opportunities for career advancement compared to your office-based counterparts. You may also miss out on opportunities to network with key decision-makers within your organisation.
I.T. issues: When working remotely, you may be at risk for security breaches or ‘cyber-hacking’. As A.I. technology rapidly develops, this is becoming a systemic issue within large companies. If you’re at home alone, you may be at greater risk if you do not have an invincible firewall. You may also be troubled by local internet outages and computer malfunctions as you’re not connected to a shared network.

(You can read about my views regarding Artificial intelligence on a separate blog here.)

So, Is It Home Sweet Home Or Home Office Hell?

As you will hopefully see, working from home depends on many significant factors besides what you do for a profession. It clearly comes down to what works for you and who you work for.

The future of employment undoubtedly appears to be biased toward a hybrid model, and many corporations are already re-calibrating to reach that ideal sustainable new normal that keeps all workforce members happy.

And so, like an artist finishing their creation with their last stroke, I felt I also needed to draw a conclusion.

The next weekend, I called my best friend back for Sunday lunch and sincerely apologised for the previous weekend.

With perspicacity, I presented what you just may have glanced over to her as an ongoing reader in deep thought.

She smiled back reassuringly and said, “Oh, I totally get it now. That’s completely understandable as I also work from home and am constantly distracted when my phone keeps ringing.”

Now, I turn to you. If you have ever worked from home, what works for you?

Or maybe more importantly, what has not?

Thoughts & comments are welcome below.

About Surrinder Singh

Dr Surrinder Singh is a medical doctor, blogger and freelance writer. He is passionate about healthcare, medicine and education and works professionally with B2B and B2C clients.