By Younas Chaudhary
Three years ago, most of our office building parking garages were full of cars bustling with daily activity, the nearby shops busy, and coffee shops were thriving. Today, as I drive in, I see empty parking lots, hardly anyone driving, lonely security guards patrolling the buildings and there is silence.
Working from home has disastrous consequences. It impacts workers’ productivity and the livelihoods of renters, small businesses, and our communities. When employees started to work from home, the coffee shop vendor could no longer afford rent. Long lines for coffee have thinned down and every day has become a struggle for them and other businesses that have relied on office workers spending money at local shops and newspaper stands.
Working from home is bad for businesses that hire skilled workers and pay them well to accomplish tasks that directly impact the company’s bottom line. That is not to say that I do not empathize with people who had to take care of family, pets, and households during COVID-19. Those days are behind us and getting back to the office matters for all our livelihoods.
We lose connections with real, breathing human beings when working from home and communicating through screens. Productivity falls when you are holed into a desk at home, disturbed by wailing babies, barking dogs, noise from new construction and lawn services, and other background noise. Instead, face to face interactions in the office make us more human and we are able to concentrate much better. We get to hatch great ideas with one another in the same, living, breathing space increasing creativity, productivity, and resourcefulness.
I can never buy into the notion that employees are focused, mindful, and productive working from home. Working from home promotes mediocrity.
Moreover, who knows if someone is actually working from home and is instead driving Uber, writing code for someone else, or working on multiple other odd jobs in the guise of working from home? People have the tendency to find the easy way out and we grab opportunities that make us earn more with less effort.
Today, very few managers have the training, empathy, or soft skills required to handle remote teams. This is evident by the chaos seen in many large IT firms that are trying to bring people back to the office to get their projects in order.
The office gives the work force a sense of camaraderie, belonging, and connection. Above everything it gives you a fixed timeframe that you can devote to work. In over 40 years of business, I have seen success through face-to-face collaboration, a consistent work ethic, and a passion to do good work together in the office.
However, some employees see working from home as being critical as if it was a labor union issue. With the advent of artificial intelligence and greater automation, even working from home will have its own perils! Stay blessed.
Disclaimer
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article are my own and do not represent the opinions of any entity with which I have been, am now, or will be affiliated. Further, I make no warranty regarding the accuracy or effectiveness of my recommendations, and readers are advised to consult other advisors as well as their own judgments in making business decisions.
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