Victoria Yates YesterdayMay 12 at 6:48pmManage Discussion Entry I felt like this discussion hit home for me. I actually worked from home before the pandemic began and throughout it as well as after...

Victoria Yates

I felt like this discussion hit home for me. I actually worked from home before the pandemic began and throughout it as well as after it. I feel like my company made the decisions for most if not all their employees to work from home because of a few reasons.

1. It saved the companies millions from working from home instead of paying expenses for buildings to have to rent or cover other expenses that happen


2. It saved consumers millions from gas, to insurance to beyond


3. The company paid the consumers internet bills


4. In the long run it gave better opportunities especially for myself to work from home because I was able to have my kids home and see them grow throughout it

I feel like these are many reasons people can work from home and like the articles stateBaradello, C., & Dibble, R. (2020).Diverse and dispersed: Accessing the hidden benefits of your virtual team(Links to an external site.)

It forced us to work and collaborate remotely, uncovering new opportunities for inclusion of our increasingly diverse human capital. Communications that used to be in-person with teammates, co-workers, vendors, partners, stakeholders, investors, and others are now virtual.

When teams work virtually, challenges increase, as non-verbal and paraverbal communications seen in a conference room are now eliminated or reduced. Further, socioeconomic, cultural, age, and gender diversity, as well as differences in values, could lead to different interpretations of the same information, polarizing value-driven decision making and limiting participation. Savvy leaders and OD professionals can avoid the potential pitfalls of diverse teams by working to mitigate the loss of trust, which often limits full engagement of team members.

Working from home can present challenges like internet being out, weather can have a big deal in internet working. Also loud neighbors if you live in an apartment or kids for that matter. I also feel challenges of working form home means less social aspects, for me thats what got me after 12 years; I couldnt take being from home anymore I needed human interaction. Like it states inAwada, M., Lucas, G., Becerik-Gerber, B., & Roll, S. (2021).Working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic: Impact on office worker productivity and work experience(Links to an external site.)

Workspace context plays a major role in shaping the work experience. Satisfaction with one’s workspace, privacy, and ability to personalize workspace are predictors for workers productivity [26, 27]. The shift from working in a well-established office space to work from home can be challenging for many office workers. Such challenges can be stressful and might negatively affect a worker’s desire to work and thus reduce their productivity. Having the optimal physical setup, proper ergonomics and the necessary equipment is crucial to create an effective workspace that boosts productivity and increases the workers’ engagement with their workstation. In their analysis of the workforce shift to the WFH, Moretti et al. [28] explained that workers are expected to engage extensively with their workstations while working from home, and therefore presented their suggestions for a comfortable workstation (i.e., an adjustable desk and chair to prevent back and joints pain, along with a footrest, and an adjustable monitor screen).

I feel like with family life it can be a good thing working from home, On one end you see your kids more and see them grow on the other thats all you are seeing and it can become draining instead of rewarding. Same with social aspects.

References:

Awada, M., Lucas, G., Becerik-Gerber, B., & Roll, S. (2021).Working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic: Impact on office worker productivity and work experience(Links to an external site.)

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.Work, 69(4), 1171–1189. https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-210301

Baradello, C., & Dibble, R. (2020).Diverse and dispersed: Accessing the hidden benefits of your virtual team(Links to an external site.)

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.Organization Development Review, 52(4), 69–71.

Jennifer Lewis

Hello class,

Before the pandemic hit, requiring the entire workforce to shelter in place and work from home, it was already some individuals' jobs to work from home, remote from their workplace or teams. There are a lot of reasons why someone might choose to work from home. One of the main reasons that people may enjoy working from home is that it embraces the culture of work/life balance and allows individuals to blend their personal home lives with work for a personally prescribed benefit and balance of both. It also allows flexibility in the work schedule giving an individual space to flex their day and put their time in where they see most fit in their busy schedules. It also allows some increased efficiencies and productivity for some, separating themselves from the workplace distractions and other time-consuming activities that don't add value to the job they're doing.

Some challenges to working from home may include limited access to individuals with whom an employee must collaborate to get their work done. Often, a walk by an office of an individual will answer questions with little to no friction to schedule a meeting or intentionally set time aside to discuss. There may also be less opportunity for advancement as many companies see in-person employees in the home or headquarter office as a viable option for promotion over individuals from home. Another challenge is technology and network - relying on residential network support over business IT departments and support can cause individual downtime at the mercy of network providers. Additionally, we can miss out on social interaction in our day-to-day passing, having less people to hang out with in our personal time and less human connection. Finally, home can be an uncontrolled environment with screaming children and barking dogs that interfere with our workdays. While this is also a benefit, the lack of ability to control this environment is a challenge.

Personally, I was working from home pre-pandemic and love the flexibility it affords me. I'm also very productive when I'm alone and heads-down in my work. I miss the personal interactions and brief social sharing that comes with in-person work and the effort is now very intentional to try and create these happened interactions throughout my day.

References

Awada, M., Lucas, G., Becerik-Gerber, B., & Roll, S. (2021). Working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic: Impact on office worker productivity and work experience.Work, 69(4), 1171–1189.https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-210301(Links to an external site.)

Lopez-Leon, S., Forero, D. A., & Ruiz-Díaz, P. (2020). Recommendations for working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic (and beyond).Work, 66(2), 371–375.https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-203187(Links to an external site.)

Baradello, C., & Dibble, R. (2020).Diverse and dispersed: Accessing the hidden benefits of your virtual team

Kari Nesmith

The COVID-19 pandemic embraced Work from Home (WFH). COVID 19 transformed life as we know it; every aspect of our lives has been affected by this outbreak. Organizations have embraced the concept of remote working. WFH was a necessity to mitigate the spread of the pandemic. There have been several changes associated with WFH. The abrupt shift for working parents whose children are in remote school, unusual work hours, loss of privacy and differences within the home-work spaces (Lopez, 2020). WFH greatly affects worker’s engagement, performance, health, and well-being. The three pillars on the future of the work include the workspace, the work, and the worker. The shift from working in an established office space to work from home can be challenging for many workers. These challenges can be stressful and could affects a worker’s desire to work and in return reduce productivity. Another consideration within worker productivity would be the managing the boundaries of between work duties and house responsibilities. Many individuals who WFH struggles with the increased expectations.

The health and mental health status of WFH have deteriorated workers productivity; in which it is critical of developing strategies and routines. Routine is essential to be organized and to be more productive. Extreme multitasking is greatly associated with WFH, and an individual is unable to give all their time into one thing, therefore diminishing attention to details. The flexibility allowed for the mobilization of technology greatly disintegrated the traditional work life boundary. Home-working throughout the pandemic brought into focus the merits and challenges of working from home on a level of personal experience (Aczel, 2021). There is notable benefits for companies and employees. The concerns with communication, and knowledge sharing continue to persist (Choudhury, 2020). Efforts during the pandemic concluded building trust and a step up on social issues. The challenge ahead lies in addressing culture, and how companies define their work environments. Companies’ initiative around culture, values and purpose are just as important for shaping the future of work.

Lopez-Leon, S., Forero, D. A., & Ruiz-Díaz, P. (2020). Recommendations for working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic (and beyond).Work,66(2), 371–375.https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-203187(Links to an external site.)

Aczel, B., Kovacs, M., van der Lippe, T., & Szaszi, B. (2021). Researchers working from home: Benefits and challenges.PLoS ONE,16(3), 1–13.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249127(Links to an external site.)

Choudhury, P. R. (2020). Our Work-from-Anywhere Future: Best practices for all-remote organizations.Harvard Business Review,98(6).

(Links to an external site.)

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