Working Remotely: Some Thoughts

The recent COVID-19 crisis has forced a lot of people, especially, the ones in the field of Information Technology, to ‘work-from-home‘ (WFH)/ work remotely. While for most of the population, this might be a phase but for me, it has been a desire since 2012-13 when the idea first germinated in my mind.

Working remotely, above all, is a huge change/shift in mindset and every change often brings whole new set of challenges and difficulties, nevertheless, it pays off when individuals and the society is willing to accept and adapt to the changes that have risen as consequence of their own actions. There are always pros and cons of a way of living and working. Some businesses suffer but new ones crop up and prosper.

Note that this post is NOT intended for critical tasks like a patient to be touched and diagnosed by a doctor, a fireman reaching a site of disaster, a soldier defending his nation, a worker building a truck chassis and so on. It’s about the professions and tasks where working remotely is deemed feasible. Having said that, even if 20/100 people work remotely, it would be a huge achievement.

Regarding WFH, there is aplenty data, first-hand experiences of people, job postings and so on available online. The intention of this post is not to discuss these but to merely put some points on table for an open discussion. I have tried to classify the aspects of WFH, though some of these might overlap. These aspects are neither ‘written in stone’ nor exhaustively listed. I might update this article several times, as and when I get new/better thoughts.

Economic/Financial:

• Companies can spend less on running and maintaining offices and workplaces. Maintaining the premises, housekeeping, desks and chairs, air regulation, pantries and canteens, parking lots, security, Internet connectivity and so on can be reduced. Some investment would be required for VPN, security, etc. but it would still be far less than having offices. The company can pay some extra amount to the employees for using their personal space and resources like Internet for office work.
• Business travel can be limited to absolutely essential trips. With the pace of technology, many/majority discussions can be done via telecom technologies. Recording meetings is a by-product.
• Increased efficiency among the employees. While it might take some minimal time to maintain and increase the throughput, the myth that remote working hampers productivity is now busted. In my own company, managers have reported a pleasant surprise of more work being delivered.
• People need not buy expensive apartments in already crowded cities! They can work from their hometowns or move to the less-populated areas where they can live comfortably and work efficiently as the commute is no longer required! This would definitely be a disaster for the real estate businesses and the home loans and mortgage firms, brokerage firms and so on. It will also hit hard the supplementary professions like restaurants.

Ecological/Environmental:

• Imagine the number of vehicles taken off the road! The reduced emission levels from vehicles and offices, reduced electricity, water consumption in offices(at homes, it’s simply reusing the existing resources with only a marginal increase)
• Public transport will be less strained and more comfortable, thereby(hopefully!), encouraging it’s usage.

Social/Personal(this is the BIG ONE):

• Less/no commute means more time for family, friends, hobbies and essentials like staying healthy, having adequate sleep, etc. A happier individual builds a happier society.
• The elders of the house can be better cared for as their kids can either stay with them or nearby and be there in the time of need.

Governance and Administration:

• Population in the cities will be diffused. People would not migrate just for jobs and livelihood, which will distribute the population evenly which will ease governance – lesser and smaller dams for water supply, lesser cargo coming in to supply cities with essentials, industries distributed relatively evenly and so on
• The gap between the amenities and facilities available in cities and towns/villages will lessen, thereby, promoting equality in economic terms.
• If we talk about developing and underdeveloped countries where digitization is still in it’s infancy, the motivation of working remotely will accelerate the process of digitization e.g: Civil and criminal court records, hundreds of thousands of documents stacked in banks, revenue offices and so on. I was talking to a friend who is practicing lawyer. In his opinion, it is possible to conduct 75-80% of civil case proceedings remotely, in fact, these proceedings can be recorded and the rate of absence will reduce.
• Should a crisis like/similar/worse than COVID-19 arise, the society would be better prepared to face it.

More thoughts coming soon :). Constructive feedback, discussion and comments are awaited.

Relevant Links:

• “Only 25% workforce in offices, at a time” – check what the TCS CEO thinks about working remotely.
• WFH: The Way Forward