Working at home is by no means a new thing but it has certainly increased due to necessity over the past few months, in the new, Covid-19 reality. Mainly to curb infection and to maintain productivity and functionality, businesses that were able to conduct operations by employees and/or contractors working remotely were mandated and encouraged to do so. Obviously this model does not apply to many work types but it works incredibly well for those that can conduct business off-site.
Since Level 4 lockdown, and throughout the descending alert levels, hundreds of thousands of Kiwis have swapped office life for working at home life, taking advantage of digital communication platforms, such as Zoom, Skype or Facetime, for example, to interact with others in their teams. When you think about it, productivity and performance are always benchmarks for analysing employee contributions and value. If that work can be done off-site, than all the better.
The office can very often be a place of huge distraction and unproductive behaviours, where work is measured by attendance, as much as performance. Some employers believe that visibility is more important than achievement and we may now see that this is not only untrue but unhelpful.
If standards and goals are paramount then why would it matter where that work was achieved? In another sense, surely it is logical to have employees in a space where they can achieve the most, not the least? Removing constant bugbears – such as gridlock traffic to and from work, that only decreases productivity – is a fantastic enticement as well. And consider how valuable less cars on the roads is for society and the environment.
Even in Level 2, many New Zealanders are still working at home and not only enjoying their work but opening up more time in their lives and feeling better about the work life balance. That can only be a good thing.
For 15 years I commuted to an office where I achieved far less than I ever wanted to and mixed with at least three years in gridlocked Auckland traffic, that slowly sapped my soul, I know I wasn’t in the ideal work space for my talents and skills. From conversations I have had with many other people in the same circumstances I know that we have endured with a damaged model for far too long.
Hopefully, our new reality will create an enduring method of maximising instead of stifling potential. More than ever this country needs creativity, out of the box thinking, determination and graft. Why suck the life out of it by adhering to what doesn’t work?
NoCowboys’ crew has worked remotely for the past four years and for a business that succeeds online, working at home is the ideal solution. We don’t arrive at work upset with being stuck in a car crawling along choked roads for pointless hours. We don’t dread the five o’clock turtle crawl home. We are not distracted by the constant noise of others. We are focused and motivated and that’s the best place for any employee/contractor to be.
