Billions of people around the world have been bravely facing the challenges of working from home over the past year or so – but is this way of living and working sustainable? Is working from home good for business or your career?
From feelings of isolation to fewer opportunities for engagement and teamwork, the downsides associated with working from home are starting to outweigh the benefits. During these unprecedented times, physically going to work has proven to be so much more than a social-by product of shared projects. Being in the office creates a sense of belonging, and the social interactions of moving through an office space simply can’t be replicated online.
As companies reopen their offices and vaccination campaigns pick up speed around the world, the remote working phenomenon may be on the wane.
In this article we take a look at some potential pitfalls of remote working that may be affecting your career. Fortunately, many of these can be reversed by returning to your usual commercial office space as soon as it’s safe to do so.
Is remote working really every employee’s dream come true?
As the pandemic shows signs of being contained in some parts of the world, the necessity of social distancing may be due for a re-think.
Companies around the world are planning a return to the office as productivity levels plummet and employee morale takes a hit in the remote working era.
- If you’ve been feeling a bit down as you open your laptop in the lounge and get ready for your zoom meeting, you’re not alone.
- A study recently published by Columbia University researchers found that workers are more likely to feel depressed and anxious when working from home. The study, which surveyed more than 220,000 professionals around the world, points to a lack of interaction with colleagues as the main cause of these negative emotions.
Are you Missing your office family?
One of the biggest changes that most of us have been forced to get used to during the pandemic is not being surrounded the colleagues we may have worked with for years or even decades.
One or two members of every team may not be perfect, but the fact remains that interacting with our colleagues provides crucial emotional, intellectual, and professional stimulation – and that’s just not possible on Skype or Zoom.
- Good colleagues are like friends or family. If you were especially close to specific team members you may feel a sense of separation from them that could negatively impact your work performance.
- Mentorship is essential for productivity.
- Colleagues have their own areas of expertise, and these should come together to form a highly competent team. Being away from your colleagues could mean fewer opportunities for mentorship and collaboration and the overall productivity of the team could suffer as a result
To sum up, the major down sides that come with working from home are a lack of presence and visibility in the eyes of your teammates and members of management. This could have a profound effect on the careers of junior employees who have found themselves working from home since 2020 and are beginning to think that this is the ‘norm’!
Flying under the radar could be bad for your career
Remote working may have saved us from the worst effects of the coronavirus but it could be damaging in another area of life: young careers.
Visibility is an essential ingredient in the success of any young professional. The opportunity to form lasting relationships with colleagues, clients and management can have a profound effect on the future of a budding career.
Recently hired graduates in countries around the world are facing an unprecedented work situation.
- Instead of the usual in-person interaction and team building that goes on during the early stages of every new recruit’s training, junior employees found themselves staring at laptop screens in their homes in 2020.
- With only occasional opportunities to collaborate with fellow team members and get to know their managers, this generation of young professionals will need to catch up quickly as they return to in-office working in 2021 and beyond.
For seasoned employees with an established track record of working within the organisation, a year of work from home productivity may not spell career disaster – but it’s still true that’s the best way to get ahead in any field is by being present, committed, and visible to management:
Ready to return to the office? We’ll help you get there
If working from home is starting to take its toll on you, your business and your employees, 2021 could be the best time to implement innovative interiors for a COVID-safe return to your office premises. The Commercial Space team has years of extensive experience in matching corporate retail and industrial tenants with premium office space that suits their needs. Contact us today to get started.
