The vast majority of employees who have made the shift to working from home over the course of the pandemic would probably claim that they’ve managed to maintain the same level of productivity as when they were working from the office.
Employers, on the other hand, tell a different story.
Making the switch to working from home on a full-time basis impacts employee productivity and work performance to varying degrees. Some employees were able to adjust seamlessly to working from home, while others struggled to find their stride in the beginning and continue to have a hard time adjusting to combining their personal and professional space.
Renting a professional hybrid office solution that allows employees to come into the office on a rotational schedule can help offset some of the work-from-home blues that some employees might be feeling. Here are a few of the disadvantages of working from home all the time.
Lack of Community and Teamwork
The ability to work independently is a hallmark of an excellent employee. They get their work done with very little to no management or monitoring required and their performance is usually stellar. However, working for a company entails collaborating with coworkers and working as part of a team from time to time. Virtual office services in Mississauga and Ottawa can certainly help bridge the gap between employees that are working remotely from different locations.
But virtual communication isn’t always sufficient to get your point across clearly and succinctly. Sometimes employees need quick answers to simple questions and don’t want to have to wait for an email or instant messaging reply. Plus, so much can get lost in translation during text communication and phone calls or virtual meetings can feel impersonal. There’s a certain social aspect of working in an office setting with coworkers that’s seriously lacking in the work from home structure many companies have taken on.
Lack of Motivation
Lack of motivation is another major disadvantage of working from home. Nothing motivates employees to do a good job and reach their professional goals than being surrounded by other likeminded individuals with similar goals in mind. Working alongside other professionals can be an excellent driving factor to encourage and motivate employees to do their absolute best.
Increased Isolation
Humans are naturally social beings—yes, even introverts like to socialize and have some human contact from time to time! Pre-pandemic, many people such as freelancers and small start-ups took advantage of the chance to work from home. The difference back then was that they were free to socialize outside of work as often as they wanted with as many people as they wanted. Now that all of that has changed, people who work strictly from home are at a greater risk of feeling isolated and lonely.
Depression and anxiety rates have risen considerably since the beginning of the pandemic and this is largely due to people feeling isolated and cut off from the outside world during and outside of work hours. When you rent a private temporary office space that has everything you need to continue being productive without feeling isolated all the time, you can improve your productivity and concentration while also maintaining good mental health.
Lack of Office Equipment and Cybersecurity Concerns
Working from home means that you don’t have easy access to all of the same office equipment that you need to do your job. Your employer may provide you with the basics like a company laptop and peripherals, but it’s completely up to you to make sure you have a printer, scanner, fax machine, and other larger office appliances that you may need. Plus, you also have to set up a home office complete with a desk, office chair, phone, and other necessities if you don’t already have one.
Purchasing and running all of these items from your home can cost a lot of money upfront and increase your monthly electricity and Internet bills. Luckily, some companies have been subsidizing employees who work from home to offset some of these costs and many of them are also tax deductible.
However, working from home also puts you at risk for some cybersecurity issues and data breaches as you’ll have to access sensitive and confidential company files using a remote server. Employees who work from home must join a secure cloud-based network and use a VPN to protect sensitive company information. One way to get around these security concerns is to simply rent temporary private offices or virtual office services in Mississauga and Ottawa.
Lots of Distractions and Lack of a Suitable Working Environment
Unfortunately, not all employees are lucky enough to have the square footage to convert an extra bedroom into a temporary at-home office or workspace. Furthermore, some employees in a dual income household may be forced to share their at-home workspace with their spouse or live-in partner. Add homeschooling young children into the mix, and you have a serious recipe for disaster. While there’s not much you can currently do about your work situation, meeting space and conference room rentals in Mississauga and Ottawa are a great solution for those days when you need a little privacy to work on an important project.
Disproportionate Work-Life Balance
One of the major drawbacks of working from home full-time is that it can be increasingly difficult to separate your personal and professional life. After all, once you’re done work for the day, there’s nowhere else for you to go—you’re already home. Your home is now part of your workspace. Before the pandemic, you’d have to commute back home. The time spent commuting could be used to decompress after a particularly stressful day or reflect on everything that happened at work. The stress of work was left at work, but now it’s also in your home.
Difficulty Keeping a Routine Reduces Productivity Levels
The pandemic has turned all of our routines topsy-turvy, with lockdowns being implemented and lifted every couple of weeks. These constant changes can make it difficult to stick to a routine. Moreover, they can have a seriously negative impact on our mental health, which explains why professional productivity levels have plummeted over the course of the pandemic.
Our Hybrid Office Solution Is the Way Forward
Innovative Professional Offices has a hybrid office solution that combines the best of both worlds, allowing select employees to work from home and other at the office. Designed with physical distancing and health and safety protocols in mind, our unique hybrid office solutions allow your employees to better manage their work schedules and maintain a strong sense of productivity. Contact us today to learn more.
