Md. Harun-Or-Rashid :
COVID-19 pandemic continues to sternly distress public health and cause unprecedented disturbances to financial systems and labor markets globally. As the pandemic evolves, policy makers have to take prompt measures to address COVID-19 pandemic carefully before spread of second wave. A reduction of face-to-face contact is the key to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. Corporates can initiate ‘Work From Home (WFH)’ temporarily or permanently in order to remain sustainably better in the competitive market with a view to minimizing contagion effect.
WFH is a working arrangement where an employee fulfils the essential responsibilities of job while remaining at home with using information and communications technology i.e. ensuring staffs under the umbrella of virtual banking. Indeed, WFH became the standard rather than the exception over the last few months or so with some firms. For example, many major companies remain remote as the COVID-19 pandemic wears on and plenty have no immediate plans to return to the normal office like Google, Microsoft and many other tech giant companies.
Making WFH arrangements temporary or permanent needs a paradigm shift in the way corporate function as well as squeeze of digital transformation models that need cutting edge organizational adaptations and adopting agile models of working. Operationally, managing workers from home is a new experience for Bangladeshi corporate. In such a situation, it is critical that communication occurs regularly and for communication to be targeted and personal. Administrators should be well prepared to listen to workers to flush out any customer concerns so workers can respond correctly. Face-to-face conferencing and virtual team meetings should occur on frequent basis.
How do a corporate measure workers’ productivity when working from home? Some employers doubt “are they working at all?” while others “are they working efficiently?” Yet measuring the productivity of a remote workforce should not be any more difficult or different than measuring a physically present workforce. Well managed remote teams can be far more productive than physically managed workers as corporates are required to measure productivity by objective metrics than the physical presence of time in the building.
However, a word named discipline will be missing while encouraging work from home environment. Keeping in mind, a remote working environment may make staff of an organization productive for a while but later on, inspiration of the staff will remain in question. And many of us will forgo a discipline lifestyle and, subsequently, productivity will also remain in question. While some staff concluded their meetings were more productive and time was better utilized, others thought online meetings were less productive. A controversy decision will produce frequently as some staffs concluded work-from-home was great for team spirit but most didn’t agree, many other staffs concluded online meetings are not a solution in comparison with face-to-face interactions.
Staff management and possible abuse of WFH arrangement have become concerns. As a result, more and more corporates fix requirements during WFH during the COVID-19 crisis. Issues of trust often move forward to the frontline of workplace discussions. And WFH can crash the trust equation between employees and employers because the task of management is more challenging.
Also, sometimes it becomes difficult to manage a large number of employees remotely, especially when neither the supervisor nor the team is accustomed with this work from home environment. With the help of digital communication and through collaborating in virtual spaces, many corporates in Bangladesh including financial institutions are working with flexibly and efficiently amidst the current global crisis fully or partially.
Except for bankers who deal with cash payment, a significant portion of staffs are now working from home in different banks of Bangladesh on rotation basis. Therefore, ensuring digital security is a must. However, digitization should be handling carefully as more advancement of digital technologies increases the risk of hacking and thus may prolong financial revival.
However, it is important to point out that total WFH module won’t work properly because of manufacturing activities and service-related activities–where the production and selling services to others through physical interactions is inevitable. Digital technologies may cause unforeseen problems i.e. a growing expectation to be available with the help of 24/7/365 concern for the entire workforce, but it is perhaps make worsen by remote working. Remember, we cannot build-up a culture of 24/7/365 overnight, or because of coercive administrators.
Work from home working could well become permanent for many people. Many corporates were encouraging staff to work elsewhere to reduce office costs before the pandemic, and this will probably be all the more attractive to the businesses that survive this crisis.
Face-to-face contact and the traditional command and control style of management become less applicable and bosses may struggle to find other ways to make sure that employees are getting their work done during WFH. If employees do not feel a sense of belonging during WFH, they may also distrust their managers and company leadership. And it will lead to the manager’s loss of control, and certain employees may abuse the WFH arrangement. Self-discipline, mutual trust and confidence between employers and employees are remaining the key issues while encouraging work from home.
We are living in the age of information technology and hence, the ongoing pandemic can be the mechanism that foments the decline of the traditional office management system. Change is inevitable and is the only means to sustain. And hence, it is time for the world to shift to the new normal of living and ensuring a work life balance within corporate.
(Mr. Harun-Or-Rashid works at Social Islami Bank Ltd as Manager Operations).
