Working from Home (WFH) - good idea or slippery slope?

A whole new world?

Prior to COVID-19, working from home was the exception rather than the rule.

Sure, small business owners (like me) have worked from home for years, and many employees had the option of maybe a day a week or some other hybrid home and office scenario.

Many employers were strongly against the idea, and a large percentage just thought it couldn't possibly work for their business.

Old mate COVID had other ideas and the initial lockdowns proved that in many cases, WFH was actually a viable alternative.

Different strokes for different folks

WFH doesn't suit every job or every person. Many people have their life structured around kids being in school and work being at the office. Suddenly faced with WFH plus home schooling, not to mention a life threatening pandemic, a lot of people struggled.

What does the future hold?

Alas my crystal ball is not too clear on this topic, but ultimately I believe some people will be keen to embrace WFH, some will be keen to get back to the office, and others will seek a mixture of both.

What could possibly go wrong?

My greatest concern for workers looking to embrace the WFH arrangement full-time is that, in some instances, it could lead to your job going offshore. Just think about it, if the job can be done remotely then having it done remotely offshore for less money is not exactly a quantum leap.

So what's the answer?

Every situation is different so I don't think there's a simple solution. My advice is to consider the "big picture" when seeking WFH status, and maybe err on the side of a hybrid solution? It is pretty well documented that many great ideas come from team members' random interactions and I don't think you can really duplicate that on Zoom.

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