By Vidura Prabath
The entire world is experiencing the waves of COVID – 19 and buzz words like social distancing, work from home, self-isolation have made an appearance from every corner of the world. The impact of this crisis seems to be exponentially large with the most powerful countries having failed to minimize the magnitude of the risk and are grappling with this unprecedented crisis.
Many countries have implemented strict COVID – 19 preventive measures taking charge of protecting the human beings. As a country that overcame many hardships, Sri Lanka has already implemented commendable measures not just to receive attention from all around the world, but initiatives that are solely focused of citizens, identifying the potential aftermaths of the crisis.
With curfew being imposed and heading on to the second week of work from home policy implemented by the government, more and more companies are gradually adhering to the work from home mechanism. Taking a close look at how things are spanning out, it is fair to say that work from home will possibly be the trend for the days to come. Companies which grabbed this opportunity from both hands courtesy of the advanced resources at hand have a great chance of maintaining output and efficiency levels and look at ways of overcoming this crisis rather than just waiting for something to happen.
Work from home is the ultimate solution and the safest
Health and wellbeing of employees are paramount for any company and employers are bound to take necessary action to safeguard the employees. Travelling to workplaces at the peril of public transport even when the curfew is lifted can be of high risk, so work from home policy is identified as a preventive mechanism against the spread of the virus. This will also provide an opportunity to test the adaptability of companies’ to a work from home mode which is already in practice in the western countries. COVID -19 Outbreak has already triggered major set-backs for the world economy and economic experts predict that it would take sometime for a possible recovery. If carried out in a proper and organized manner, work from home policy can play a major role in returning back to normalcy amid the looming economic slowdown.
How to adhere to work from home policy
Most people who worked in offices are not used to working from home. Working amid the loved ones may seem distracted, but if one can arrange the outer environment to and get a sense of feeling that he/she is working in an office environment might help in avoid any wavering feelings. Arranging the working place and keeping it clean are important to avoid any feeling of confusion or stress. When practiced for few days, it becomes a part and parcel of the daily routine and researches have also proved working from home to increase productivity which is a silver lining.
Pros of work from home policy
When a part of the private sector and government sector, save for essential services have had to completely abandon their usual services, companies that launched work from home initiative continue to provide the usual services. It not only keeps a company moving forward, but also helps keep its clients engaged with its services. Companies that practice work from home policy have the opportunity to serve their clients with the support of an effective communication mechanism. It also helps build the reputation of those companies with the tag line of not letting the clients down in a crisis. Continuing work from home policy will also help to keep the employees engaged and look for ways to overcome this crisis situation.
Cons of work from home policy
There are hardly any critiquing aspects to this policy when looking back at the bigger picture of what is happening throughout the world. Employees might take a bit of time adjust to the new conditions and might feel lonely working from home. These minor pitfalls can be fixed by building up good relationships among the fellow employees, talking to each other, being involved with work and most importantly by taking care of one’s physical and mental wellbeing.
Conclusion
The prevailing situation certainly demands social distancing ways and means such as work from home policy. Both government and private sector are encouraging work from home mechanism and is the most viable solution to combat these testing times whilst continuing the usual services to keep the country moving forward.
