Taking extra measures and being a little more cautious about one’s surroundings can make apparent differences in one’s well-being in the time of medical emergencies. Moreover, taking into account other’s health and safety is also a step forward in assuring a healthy environment. Similarly, to fight in the tough times of coronavirus breakout, many multinational companies are taking major steps to assure the safety and health of their employees. They are shifting to work from home method or advise to work remotely to avoid any large gatherings. Being a contagious disease, contacting with anyone diagnosed with COVID-19 while commuting to work or in the office premises can affect any healthy people unexpectedly. To avoid these issues, many renowned companies have shifted to the home office.
However, Barbara Larson, an executive professor of Management at Northeastern University finds out the difficulties and the problems related to the sudden shifting of the companies to a home office. Her research is based on the ‘nuances of remote work’ and she says that despite advanced technology and developed mediums of communication, remote work has its own share of obstacles and if more, a lack of communication. Larson divides the challenges faced during remote working into two sections: task-oriented and social. According to her, the most important task-oriented challenge is the disruption in free communication and sharing information along with the problem that the employees face while enabling real-time collaboration. Nonetheless, there are various ways to mend the communication gap with the advancement of technology as there are many instant messaging platforms and document sharing platforms to work around these tests. Another social challenge is the rise in the sense of isolation of being separated from co-workers while working at home. To combat these feelings, agencies with huge remote-workers arrange “virtual pizza parties” to stimulate the experience of a gathering.
It is important to let the employees have types of conversation which do not include the topics related to work, Larson says and hopes to return to the regular work environment.
Rubena Bose
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