Dr. Md Asadul Islam :
Covid-19 infections have been increasing in Bangladesh in the last few weeks; therefore, hospitals are struggling to accommodate extra patients from the coronavirus. In this respect, different organisations are also suffering from high absenteeism because many of their infected employees cannot attend office not only for feeling unwell but also to restrict the spread of the virus. Furthermore, government has enforced lockdown since 7th April 2021. The lockdown duration might be increased if the infection rates continue and the Covid-19 situation worsens in Bangladesh. In response to the lockdowns or even to other restrictions imposed by Government, employees of different organisations have to work from home that has now been common due to the yearlong Covid-19 pandemic started in December 2019. However, working from home is not only challenging but also very expensive for the employees since Internet bill, phone calls, electricity bills, equipment, cleaning and other costs incur huge costs for the employees.
Furthermore, employees have to arrange separate rooms or spaces in their flats that are sometimes very difficult and costly, especially when extra room is required to rent for working from home. Although work from home is examined as a significant opportunity to develop work-life balance and adore flexibility but many employees are coupled with poor emotional and mental health support from family members as well as employers specially Bangladeshi employers, who literally ignore the challenges sourced from the work from home arrangements. Many employers argue that their sales have been reduced due to the Covid -19 pandemic especially during the lockdowns. This is true but government has been supporting many of the business organisations, however, very few of those furlough benefited organisations are giving anything extra to their employees, who work from home. We have to acknowledge that the prospect of returning to the traditional workplace and operations has been a dream than the reality. Therefore, working from home culture would be continued for an indefinite period not only due to the current Covid -19 pandemic but also for many forthcoming pandemic or disasters, which may occur due to climate change.
Therefore, the business organisations will have to arrange some compensation for the extra costs incurred from the work from home. If compensation is not given, the workers might find out freelance online jobs, which could reduce their interest to work for their current business organisations. As a result, the turnover of skilled employees in the organisations could be high. In this respect, it is significant to note that getting skilled workers during the pandemic has been tough and sometimes impossible. It is because organisations not only from Bangladesh but also from Western countries during this new normal period are in competition to get the skilled workers and welcome skilled workers with a higher salary and benefits.
Working from home requires excellent knowledge and command in the technologies especially Internet and computer software related arenas. According to experts, the employees who have clear understanding and skills on Internet, computer, software and so on can adapt any working situation very much clearly and quickly. As a result, their employability is increased among the business organisations in developed countries as those organisations get many works done over the online platforms. Therefore, many skilled employees have been taking online jobs from the freelance platforms leaving the domestic organisations which merely consider extra payments for the new costs associated with working from home. As a result, the local business organisations in Bangladesh may face difficulties in getting efficient workers to meet the demands derived from the new normal. Therefore, it is high time for the Bangladeshi business organisations or even governments to arrange some compensation for the employees working from home.
(Dr. Md Asadul Islam is a teacher, Faculty of Business, Swinburne University of Technology (Sarawak Campus). Email: [email protected])
