The entire business fraternity has been rendered indecisive to choose on the road ahead for integrated work. The entire employee base across the world is divided into different groups showing mixed response to the pandemic induced work from home alternative. Some are in favour of remote working, some are wishing for pre COVID work culture to resume, while the rest are desperately awaiting the hybrid model to be incorporated in the business structure.

As estimated by Becker Friedman Institute, post-pandemic 22 percent of the total work days will account for work from home. Though the companies have shown great agility in adopting the remote working culture, its side effects were very soon realized by the employees.

For many, staying focused while working from home is a great challenge. Often they were juggling between the household chores and office work. Parents were the worst affected who are under constant pressure to take care of their kids while being present for the untimely meetings.

As a consequence, invoking motivational powers becomes a task altogether which makes it even more difficult to keep up the spirit while working amidst the interruption.

Only big conglomerates have the leverage to enable work from home. They can afford to support their employees with the entire remote working setup. But for small-sized businesses and startups, it can cost them their fortune.

Where they are staggering to cope up with the deadly competition in the market, juggling with acute fund crunch, providing the employees with equipment and facilities to work from home is beyond their scope.

Thus, remote working culture can disrupt the ideal ecosystem for startup growth. This can have an impeding impact on the economy as India is a hub for budding start-ups.

Moreover, certain job roles like sales, business development and many more require constant brainstorming for which regular and concrete meeting with the team is imperative. Though virtual meetings can offer temporary solutions but for the effective realization of work without communication gap, on-ground exposure is necessary.

2021 will witness some reformatory changes in the work culture

Analysing the entire situation judicially, it is perceived that 2021 will witness some reformatory changes in the work culture. The novel coronavirus has taught the companies a major lesson to not disregard the importance of quality workspaces.

Large companies with the backup of resources will highly prefer larger working spaces to ensure social distancing. This will not only give comfortable space to the individuals to carry on uninterrupted work but will also promote personal hygiene.  

On the other hand, small scale businesses and startups will be in the lookout for co-working spaces as it provides flexibility and cost advantage to the emerging businesses. Where startups are continuously working to expand their business across different locations, co-working spaces offer an opportune deal that doesn’t require companies to enter into agreement costs. Additionally, it highly aids in reducing the infrastructural costs.

Where Google intimated its employees about the plans to book collaborative places for conducive large team meetings, it has foresighted vision to come up with a place where employees can find isolation to work efficiently away from the chaos at home.  

Their proposal to come up with new offices in areas showing less probability of contracting coronavirus reiterates the fact that coming back to physical offices cannot be ruled out. Humans being social animals cannot isolate themselves from the world for a long time.

To realize their full creative potential and to work with integrated productivity they need to break the monotony of repetitive lifestyle common in work from home. Though working from home sounds lucrative to many but it comes with limiting scope having an obstructive impact on the enthusiasm of the employees.

Therefore, with the news of vaccine making rounds in the media, the businesses will be ready to come back with full force ready to operate organically from the vicinity of their office but with certain reformatory changes.