Work From Home is the new Sugar
Here’s an interesting interview experience:
Me “At LenDenClub, since I’m building my core team, I want them to work from office”
Candidate “Why do you want WFO (Work from Office), and not WFH?”
Me “Why do you want WFH?”
Candidate “It’s not safe to commute in local train (in Mumbai) because of Covid… Further, I get to spend time with my family, Can drop my son to the school…”
Me “wait, what? You want WFH but your son has to go to a physical school? Why? If you can get infected in local train, can’t he get in the school?”
Candidate “Hmm! But human interaction is needed for his growth. Further, he can study with focus there….”
Me “Precisely!”
A boisterous-silence for a while.
WFH is an oxymoron, just like cook, chitchat, sleep from office is.
It’s a new sugar: may look delicious, but is surely unhealthy if taken more than a pinch.
Anyway, at LenDenClub, we follow a hybrid model where in one can choose WFH, WFO, WFHimalaya 😀…
But my observation of WFH is mostly it fails because:
- You may not have a full fledged office setup.
- Your desk may be filled with distractions such as utility bills, plates of potato for peeling, your children’s toys etc.
- Your most productive first few mins goes into saying “Are you able to hear me now? My internet is good, check yours. Let me switch to 4G….” which loses the mojo of the call for yourself and your peers.
- The background noise of drilling, flushing, pressure cooker, super biker running back and forth the road next to your workdesk, alien invasion… a modern days war fare, and what not? Everything that can happen WILL happen during THAT important call where you were supposed to make an impression.
- You scratch your tummy and think let’s munch something since the kitchen is a few steps away.
- Worst of all! Bad posture, prolonged sitting, less interactions, etc ends up making you physically, mentally, socially unfit.
- Need I say more?
It’s difficult to maintain a work discipline from home.
Hence, my humble urge! Please keep your homework at home and officework at office.
Try creating a defined boundary between your worklife and homelife. That’s #worklifebalance
Take a leave/halfday, instead of WFH, if you have errands to run. Just like you don’t like your family interrupting you while you work, they don’t like you working while you’re with them.
Your family members would find it depressing to see you locking the door, sitting at the corner of a bed/table and glaring at the laptop while they are out there discussing some issue/event while eating pakoda with chai. If your kid doesn’t get to hang out with you while you’re around, it would disturb them more than your scheduled absence. They’re better off knowing you’re at workplace. 😊
Would love to learn about your views. If you agree, do share a clap.