Working From Home….While Shopping or Playing with the Kids

Introduction

Life since the pandemic has changed in many ways.  One major adjustment has been the blurring of lines between work and leisure.  For many, work days are longer.  For others, the intrusion of personal time into work time has resulted in no clear delineation between the two.

I was reminded of this recently a few weeks ago when I was shopping at Costco early on a weekday morning. One of the advantages of being self-employed is you have some control over your personal schedule.  Shopping on a weekend is often stressful, and the grocery stores are packed with shoppers.  Weekdays are less hectic, or at less they were until about a year ago.  Increasingly, it is becoming impossible to tell the difference.

While in the store I came across two shoppers.  One had two pre-schoolers with him, and was carrying on a business conversation in the middle of the store while picking up items.  It sounded like he was in a business meeting.  Normally, I would have found any one of the three activities he was involved in sufficiently challenging.  Balancing shopping with minding two kids and conducting a business conference, far exceeded my definition of multi-tasking. 

The other was a woman who was obviously in a hurry.  She brushed past several of us, and hustled her way through the self-checkout. I heard her say to whoever was on the phone that she had to get home for an important business call in fifteen minutes.  I don’t know if she made it in time, but in her haste left behind a trail of angry customers alarmed and upset with her lack of courtesy and impatience.

Time for Some Perspective

I have written about working from home several times in previous blogs.  I am not averse to the concept.  Indeed, when I worked in the corporate world up until ten years ago I availed myself of the opportunity.  I’ve also written work from home policies on several occasions.

That said, working from home used to be a privilege, not a right.  It used to be available to certain people in certain positions on a limited basis, usually once or maybe twice a week.  If someone were identified as abusing their work from home privileges it was revoked.

The pandemic changed all that.  Suddenly, everyone had to work from home to contain the spread of COVID.  Work and leisure blended together.  Parents working from home shared their accommodation with their children who were learning online.  A few days stretched into a few weeks, which stretched into several months which became a couple of years.  Then, suddenly, the pandemic restrictions were lifted, and children returned to the classroom, and workers were expected to return to the workplace.  At least, that was the hope.

However, it turns out that a lot of workers liked working from home.  A lot.  They liked the convenience.  They liked not having to get dressed up.  They liked not having to commute.  They liked the flexibility working from home provided.  And they liked the money they saved from not having to commute.

Some employers compromised and agreed to letting their employees work from home on an extended basis.  Some dug their heels in, and insisted their staff return to the office full-time.  And some, like the Canadian federal government, adopted what they felt was a compromise measure intended to compel a partial return to the workplace.

It’s Become a Minefield

There are two really huge problems that working from home presents.  First, as my examples have shown, it is a benefit that is seriously being abused.  I had a neighbour who, this past summer, was usually outside for extended times throughout the day.  Sometimes, she would take long bike rides with her husband.  Sometimes, she would go to a nearby park for a long hike.    Once, when she and her husband were loading up the car, I naively asked if she was on going on vacation.  Not really, she replied.  It seems she was “working from home”.  I have a really hard time believing that she is providing full support to her work team and supervisor while adhering to such a loose schedule.

The second problem with working from home is that increasingly, if you are out of sight and not routinely in the office, you are “out of mind”.  A client of mine found this out the hard way.  He lives about an hour south of Boston and where his company’s head office is based.  He rarely ventured into the office.  A senior position came available in his firm to which he applied.  Despite exemplary qualifications he was passed over.  The position went to another individual who had a higher profile and, not surprisingly, worked regularly from the office.  In short, my client’s competition was a known quantity.

Finding a Happy Medium

Job dissatisfaction is at an all-time high.  Many people dislike their job, and want a change or, better still, a promotion.  However, if you are aren’t visible you aren’t seen as contributing.  Moreover, despite efforts to monitor work performance, there are many supervisors who perceive employees who work from home as being less productive than those in the office.

If employers are concerned about things such as job performance, productivity and meeting deadlines then it is up to them to lay a solid foundation.  That starts with a clear work from home policy that outlines the details of how this arrangement will play it.  At a minimum, it should specify that working from home is not a right but an option that is extended by the employer.  It should contain details on how an employee can apply for this program, and the criteria by which an application to work from home will be assessed and either approved or declined.  It should lay out explicit terms of when an employee is expected to be in the office, and also, what happens if job performance and targets aren’t being met.

Employees have obligations as well.  One is to ensure that they have the resources, supports and ability to work from home.  That includes freedom from and elimination of distractions, and the tools to communicate with their office or supervisor when necessary. Another is to be aware of the type of events or situations that will require their attendance in the office.

While working from home can assist employees in balancing work and personal commitments, the reality is that it comes with a price.  That price is often a loss of networking which, as we all know, is the preferred recruitment vehicle through which many employers fill vacancies.  Networking requires live personal contact and interaction.  Truthfully, virtual connections don’t cut it.

A Final Thought…..

Our busy schedules have rendered working in a traditional office setting full-time almost a thing of the past.  That said, there are not only distinct advantages but also, disadvantages, that can accrue from this arrangement.  Before embarking on a work from home arrangement it is important that both employers and employees think through the consequences of this work situation, and how both will remain accountable.

Sadly, it’s the accountability component of work from home, whether to customers, clients or supervisors, that has taken a beating in recent years.