Although home office was a thing for more than a decade for technologists, it came into a spotlight recently with the international lockdowns.
People formed two groups, the first group is those who support and like the home office and remote work, and the other group is convinced that work can only be done in an office with people in the organizational structure and with “real” visibility.
I spent almost a decade working on-site, and I can sum-up another decade of home office as well, so I think I have a fairly good overview of both worlds.
9 to 5
Many jobs require availability during a definite period of time. More than a hundred years old convention is to work in “office time” from 9 AM to 5 PM. Obviously it does not fit to those who work in shifts 24/7. A lot of creative IT and Security work, planning, experimenting and documenting are done during the same framework.
We were raised and taught with a 100 years old method and ideology
Our work ethics and education are the hundred years old and it immediately affects the thinking of people. The school system was defined in a time when “work” meant standing in a factory, selling stuff in a store and so on. When formal education was reformed the internet known today was not around. The freedom in place and time was not a thing at all. Many of the middle and top managers – who were trained in this period – know only the 9 to 5, the 24/7 and the work that is physically done in a formal office of the company.
Smoking, coffee breaks and meetings
On the other hand employees of these companies with formal work ethics developed a great way to avoid work at all costs. Being physically in the office meant “work” for them despite being absolutely ineffective and unproductive. Sitting in the kitchenette or smoking in front of the building added to the “work time” and that was the main target. I have seen people spending 30 minutes smoking time in every 40-50 minutes and similar things with coffee breaks. Despite being physically in the office no work was done, deadlines and main targets were missed.
Another sub-category of these work-avoiding-things are meetings. Meetings are a convenient way looking extremely busy with a full calendar and achieving no goals. Meetings with hijacked main topic or with total indecision just add to the work time. The target is to reach the end of the day at any cost.
Many people in home office send meeting requests more frequently to show the amount of “work” they are doing. The target is not a measurable goal at the end of the day just looking very busy despite being unproductive.
Moreover people with defective work ethics will extend the duration of the smoking and coffee breaks in home office till the point where no work is done at all.
The Family
Without laying down the rules, working from home with family can be annoying. I heard not only one person whining about the family. In my opinion it is just an excuse for avoiding work. I do not want to start a rant here, but a person who cannot keep an order in the family will not be able to keep the order in work either.
Final thoughts
Working from home or remotely must not be taken as a right. It is a privilege and it works only with the mutual trust of the employee and the employer. Both sides must do the efforts to keep the processes working.
Tom's IT Cafe 