With the pandemic altering almost all aspects of our daily lives, staying safe by working from homes amid a raging virus outbreak is what seemed like the most sensible thing to do. But after a whole year of crazy working hours within the four walls of one's apartment rather than swanky office spaces, how sensible is it to return to the office?
Several companies have been slowly but eventually getting their workers back to regular office spaces like before. With exceptions such as healthcare professionals, law and order officials, food suppliers and the likes for whom the work from home experience was never feasible, people are now seemingly interested in forsaking their home workspace for their cubicles and office chambers.
A survey conducted by News18 in partnership with market research company YouGov found that a sizeable chunk of people wishes to return to offices like before. But with the safety of utmost importance, many are also ready to wait out the availability of a vaccine.
The survey, that was conducted between December 29, 2020 and January 3, 2021 collected data from 1015 urban Indian respondents and found several interesting inferences about people willing to go back to work. Almost seven in ten people who answered questions for the survey said they will be comfortable in returning back to their offices while at least 67% are comfortable with the idea of travelling to domestic destinations.
Among those who took part in the survey, at least one-third of the participants expressed that they only wish to return to their offices once everyone in the country is vaccinated.
However, an interesting inference from the survey result was also that almost 30% of participants had no problems in going back to their usual workspaces once people in their offices are inoculated. Now, while the office spaces are sanitised and co-workers are vaccinated, what's interesting to note is that the risk of travelling involved is not factoring in here.
Meanwhile, a sizeable number of them also seem to have slipped into a habit of working from homes and thus at least 20% of them believe that they will be more comfortable in working from home till the pandemic finally gets over, irrespective of the fact that everyone around them and in the country is vaccinated or not.
With the advent of a new year, close to half the respondents at 48% believed that the job opportunities this year will be better, while 32% are not yet sure about the situation of the job market this year.
Remote working, although not unheard of, has been one of the most prominent factors to curb the spread of the virus in India and even elsewhere. While a lot of it also depends on how the pandemic shapes up and how sooner or later the vaccination covers most of the sub-continent, a lot of it also depends on the companies and their working policies.
Microsoft was probably one of the first companies to announce the extension of their remote working policy. The company has released the new “hybrid workplace” guidance that lays out how employees can have a more flexible remote work schedule and even relocate elsewhere in the US, while it continues to adjust to changing needs during the ongoing pandemic.
Companies have also tried and infused new and innovative ideas to make the scenario a tad better for their employees. Halfway through the pandemic, the company gave employees another day off to avoid burnout. Google marked the Friday day-off as a one-time paid holiday for "collective wellbeing" that applies to both full-time employees as well as interns.
Because, yes, burnouts are happening. Another report conducted towards the end of last year found that more than 41% of the workforce in India were dealing with increased stress levels because of the blurred lines between work and personal life. The blurring of lines is a result of increased communication with colleagues and fewer boundaries with regards to time, and long workdays.
Thus, amid increasing stress levels and all too mixed up aspects of work and personal lives, going back to the office might just be what people need at this point to get back that demarcation for all of us.