Work from home

The pandemic has moved us humans and the entire world. And, of course, the economy and its companies. Decision-makers who had previously been unsure about new working models now had to try them out, test them and introduce them. If there are positive things about a pandemic, one of them is the increased willingness to work in one's own and private four walls.

Of course, this is limited to companies where employees do not have to be present on site in the office, on the factory floor or in other important places. The desire to work more at home was often granted with a sneer or rejected before the corona pandemic. There was no understanding that it was possible to work just as productively at home in the majority of companies. This is not least because digitalization in the economy was delayed and overslept. The latter now had to show that it could make up for this delay in record time. It had no other choice and was forced to make its fortune. The clear winners of the crisis were providers of video conferencing solutions and messaging services for businesses.

Among many other points that have changed in everyday working life, we focus in this article on working from home. This is because it has both positive and negative aspects, both for employees and companies.

I’d like to share how we’ve dealt with this issue in our company and how we’ve adapted to the new reality.

What employees and companies can get out of working from home

More people are working from home in professions that allow it, which provides advantages for companies and their employees that can't be ignored. Let's take a closer look at a selection of the positive aspects.

Summary:

1. Companies have the potential to save money or reallocate space by reducing their use of office space.
2. It is possible to reduce heating and energy costs by merging workspaces within the company.
3. Employees can adapt their workspace at home to their needs.
4. Employees can work flexibly and are less bound to external requirements.
5. Days spent at home in the office reduce the effort and cost of commuting to work.
6. Potential for more productive work through longer, uninterrupted blocks of time.

If only half of stationary workplaces need to be kept available for employees, this opens up new possibilities for companies. Depending on the nature of the company's locations, subleasing or downsizing of the premises can be considered. Considering the constant rise in rental costs, this is certainly an aspect that could have a positive effect in the medium term due to the possible savings. A more interesting option for companies that have had to deal with insufficient space before is repurposing premises, for example making the long-awaited meeting or project room a reality.

Of course, less space also means savings in terms of energy costs for heating and electricity. To be fair, however, it should be said that these costs are paid by each employee when they work from home. Companies sometimes pay monthly supplements to the employees to cover these costs. It is assumed that there is a reduction in costs for the companies, even though they compensate the employees for the additional costs.

Working from home can also have many advantages for employees. While the design of a company's workplace is usually based on rules, a person's own workplace can be designed to meet and fit their needs.
Most people don't have a separate room to use as a workspace. In these cases, it's not possible to create a workspace that's separate from the private space, which limits the possibilities. However, this gives most people more freedom to design their own place of work.

Another plus is the flexibility that comes with working from home. Families can especially benefit from this. In the best case, private appointments can't be made only after work, which is hard to do when dealing with authorities because the offices only have limited hours. The presence at home can also help you organize your family. But it's important to note that working from home doesn't mean that parents are always available for the children.

More than 30 minutes to get to work is not uncommon. Depending on the type of transport, this can be a costly pleasure. In rural areas, the choice of transport is not even guaranteed. With the current prices for mobility, people are happy to save on these costs. In addition to these costs, people also have to spend a lot of time every month to be able to get to work on time every day. It seems tempting to get up in the morning, having 5 minutes more to enjoy the first coffee, read the news and then start working. The quality of life is positively impacted by such a start to the day, according to experience reports. This aspect is the most important reason for many people to demand working from home. Even if the employee pays the costs of the commute to work proportionately or in total.

Even though some people would rather not admit it, it's possible to work more focused and focused at home in many cases. This is not least because longer and uninterrupted blocks of time are organizable and feasible. Of course, this presupposes that you don't immediately check your chat or e-mail every time you are notified. Noise can usually be contained by oneself, and the workplace can be set up in a way that minimizes distractions. Of course, this does not always work. But many people on the web report that this is one of their main arguments for working from home.

Disadvantages of working in your own home

Of course, there are also negative aspects to consider when discussing working from home. I'd like to talk about some of them here.

Summary:

1. Contact and personal exchange with colleagues is limited to digital ways and tools.
2. The increase in video conferencing or remote meetings and chat messages can cause stress.
3. The separation of private life and work becomes more difficult.
4. It can be hard to finish the workday.
5. The expectation that employees are always available can increase.
6. Elimination of small talk reduces social interaction between colleagues.
7. Increased energy costs and loss of private space.
8. Companies and supervisors may be forced to trust employees more, which is not always possible.
9. Increased demands on controlling and management.

One effect that is mentioned repeatedly is that many people working from home miss personal contact and direct exchange with their colleagues, and would like to have this again more. It's hard to make this personal contact with digital tools. A certain distance is usually noticeable in 1-to-1 conversations via video conferencing solutions. Naturally, this depends on the individual people and their attitude towards digital tools. Nevertheless, it is true that many people find this difficult.

Depending on the situation, the use of video conferencing solutions is increasing at work at home. Despite the increasing use of chat messages and e-mails, video and voice communication between colleagues is still an important method of communication. But according to experience reports, this can also lead to stressful situations for people. Whether it is the feeling of being recorded by a camera or an unsafe handling of digital tools. Many people feel uneasy using video-based communication tools.

Another reason, perhaps more obvious, why people may find it difficult to work from home is that it is not at all easy to separate private from business matters when both take place within the same four walls. Only a few people can call a separate workroom their own, so they have to set up their workplace in the normal living room. The more restricted the living situation, the harder it is to separate the two worlds.

Furthermore, there is a problem that is obviously equally critical. A local separation between private and business matters makes it easy to end a working day. It can take a lot of mental consistency to find a point where one is not mentally preoccupied with work issues if this separation is removed. It is even more difficult if one does not have the privilege of closing the door to a separate working room.

And when we talk about consistency, we also have to consider the issue of constant availability. Some supervisors assume that messages to other employees are answered or at least read immediately. The difficulty hasn't only existed since the increase in working from home. But it is reported repeatedly that this has exacerbated the difficulty. And yes, it's hard to not check for new messages at every notification tone. And this is not only true during working hours. As the boundaries between private and business life become increasingly blurred, it is becoming increasingly difficult to close the computer completely at the end of the day and put the mobile phone on silent.

The reduction in personal communication is accompanied by another aspect that may not seem as important. Small talk is crucial in human relationships and interaction. It helps us to take a deep breath and clear our heads for a few minutes. Off-topic conversations often take place before an appointment, but in the context of a video call they are often just a desperate way to fill the silence.

It should be mentioned again that the conversion of private space into workplaces increases the costs of privately used space. In addition, more energy is consumed. This concerns heating and, of course, electricity. The cost will be felt in one's own wallet at the end of the month if the employer doesn't contribute.

Of course, companies and their supervisors must have greater trust in their employees when they work remotely. This is not always successful, and it can also be for personal reasons. Mistrust can be reduced with the digitally networked tools available. When it comes to digital work, results are usually visible in real time. But you have to first introduce these tools to the company, which is hard for many companies.

The communication of companies with their employees may be somewhat more difficult overall. Not only the employees, but also all the trades that come into contact with them must consider and use digital communication. It is important that a company has a set of guidelines for internal communication and uses certain tools and solutions for this purpose. This may result in a high licensing and usage cost.

Tips for working at home

We have noticed that there are both positive and negative aspects to working within your own four walls. With a few tricks, the negative points can be well managed.

1. An ergonomic workplace is also essential at home. Employers should consider subsidizing an appropriate workplace.
2. Sufficient light and good air make for a pleasant working environment. When setting up a workstation at home, care should also be taken to ensure that ambient noise is low.
3. Routines facilitate the separation of private and professional life. Structuring the workday at home (and sticking to it, of course) can help clear the mind. Constantly changing break times, work start and end times blur boundaries between private and business.
4. The right tools are important for communication and distributed work management. Too many tools for overlapping tasks or tools with heaps of features that you never use can unintentionally increase the complexity of using such tools. Less is often more here, too.
5. Regular off-topic calls promote social exchange between colleagues. Regular meetings for team exchanges and small talk can loosen up communication.
6. It is significant for colleagues to get together regularly. Team events promote cohesion and should be planned regularly. Company-wide events once a year are not enough.
7. A constantly open and video-supported communication channel for the team brings high added value. It is similar to the principle of water dispensers in offices. Colleagues dial in when they feel like it and can simply talk there, completely apart from all work topics.

The model of devlix GmbH

The topic of working from home has also been on our minds. Since the beginning of the corona pandemic, we have been mainly working from home. During the process, we realized that we needed more time for off-topic conversations so that we could not just talk about current projects.

To keep the communication in the team and the interaction going, we have introduced regular meetings during the week with a duration of 30 minutes. To make the purpose of these meetings clear, we have called them "coffee klatch". In addition, we plan regular games evenings in our offices, where everyone can bring board games. Company events, such as summer party, Christmas party etc. still take place once a year, as the name suggests.

We have introduced two days per quarter on which we train together and are not available for day-to-day business. Each colleague works on a topic of their choice, but we show it to the whole team in the following weeks to pass on knowledge. This also happens remotely, but it promotes communication among us.

Generally, we plan regular lunchtime meetings in which a colleague presents a topic to the team. The choice of topic is completely free, but is of course very much oriented towards current projects. The audience can eat their lunch and drink coffee. We see this as a good opportunity to learn new things in an informal atmosphere.

We are satisfied with the measures we have taken, but of course, we are always thinking about how we want to deal with the issue of working from home in the future. Not only that, but we agreed that it is up to everyone to choose the model that suits them best. Results come first, not the place of work. With this, we are also in full agreement with the developer community, which wants exactly this.

It is important to regularly question one's own procedure and approach to working from home, and to adjust it if necessary. We ourselves are satisfied with our model. However, this may also be since we work on a wide variety of projects across the team and are not necessarily dependent on constant coordination within the team.

We are currently planning to spend more time on site in the office again, even though we were able to accept the change to working from home. We are missing the social component of working together as a team.

My conclusion

Working from home is a suitable option for jobs that do not necessarily require on-site presence in the company. All this requires the right tools and strategies to deal with the challenges.

This model is not for everyone. Ultimately, everyone has to try it for themselves and decide for themselves whether they can gain advantages from it. I think regulations for or against working from home are fundamentally wrong. Companies have to develop a strategy together with their employees on how to deal with this issue.

It was always important to me to keep my private and business life separate, so I had problems with it at the beginning. It took me a while to get used to it. Simultaneously, I have also adapted to the advantages and I organize my working day in the same way as when I leave the house at a fixed time and come back again. I also take a short break at the same time. This routine gives me the distance I need when it's closing time. I don't have a separate room for work. However, my desk is in a room that is only used as a passageway. This means I don't lose a lot of space that I would use privately in my spare time. In addition, I have limited myself to a small desk, which prevents the workspace from spreading out and taking up even more private space.

Do you work at home and what are your experiences with it? You are welcome to let us know in the comments. We would be truly interested. Thank you very much!

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Frank Schillinger is writing for the devlix Blog at https://www.devlix.de/blog
This article was published first here (german): https://www.devlix.de/zu-hause-arbeiten/

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Feature image: Photo by Nelly Antoniadou on Unsplash