Ten Bad Things About Working From Home
The resurgence of Covid-19 pandemic mandated some companies to allow their workers operate from home. The move is aimed at preventing unnecessary contact of people in the workplaces which is among the ways through which the virus is spread. However, as many workers are finding out, this arrangement is froth with immense challenges. From your spoilt brats pestering you for money for sweets in the middle of Zoom meeting, to your hawk eyed hubby that is keen to know whoever calling you, a lot of workers are now praying that their companies do away with this arrangement and recall them back to work. They no longer mind using their transport and spending some time on Jams. Here are ten reasons why working from home is becoming problematic to many Kenyans.
Destructions Gallore
Indeed, many folks are finding it hard to operate smoothly in the face of brats and nagging hubbies. You see, your children will be crying for money to buy sweets yet you are in the middle of Zoom meeting with your office colleagues. Still, you will be having a rough time with your nagging hubby demanding answers for all the “lame” questions you have always evaded. Even if you manage to contain “your people” or in any case you are a bachelor, you still have to endure loud noise from your neighbor children playing outside the residential plot or just women quarreling over a man, airing lines, water or some other matter. You also have no otherwise but to persevere with the loud Ohangla music coming from the Luo neighbor who just bought a new woofer.
No office/Home boundaries
Working from home means there is no office/home boundary. Your boss will just call you, quarrelling, and demanding to know why you are yet to finalize that project yet the deadline is approaching. You will even be threatened with sack or disciplinary action in the presence of your hubby or family. In fact, the said boss will call you at 9.30pm asking you about the progress of the report you are supposed to prepare and inquiring why your phone was off when he was looking for you.
Constant Surveillance from your FBI Hubby
Unlike in the workplace where you don’t have to worry about who calls you or sends you inboxes on messenger or wattsup, you are constantly at worry over these when you are at home. This is because any wrong signal will attract the attention of your hawk eyed hubby and now the confrontations will start. To avoid such issues, some dudes have resorted to turning off their main lines and even social media channels so as to work in peace.
There is no IT Department
Whenever the internet goes down, the VPN becomes dysfunctional or your computer fails to boot, you will always call a technician, Help Desk or any relevant person who will be able to solve the problem. This is not the case at home where you will have to solve all the problems by yourself. This implies that you can be wasting a lot of time trying to find out why the VPN is not working and how to fix it or figuring out why computer is not booting. Even though you are the boss at this time, you are also the IT person, the administrative assistant or the courier.
No more company Freebies
For some workers who are used to freebies like free hot water, tea and heavy lunch at their workplace, the end of Covid-19 will certainly see them reduced to size. This is because many of them will not actually afford the sumptuous meals offered by their companies during lunch time and so, they will be taking Ugali-Sukuma, plain rice, or even missing lunch altogether to salvage the budget. Very few people are able to afford a meal of chapatti and Kuku for lunch, thus many workers are longing to go back to the workplace for the same.
Budget Disruptions
Work from home arrangement saw many people get excited, especially because fares and jams were now avoided. However, what many didn’t envision is that they will have to foot for the increased cost of internet, electricity and even food. The idea of buying bundles every now and then for the purpose of sending that work or participating in that Zoom meeting is not very attractive to some guys, considering what Covid-19 pandemic has done to the economy. Since you are in the house for the better part of the day, it just means you have to purchase adequate power tokens; otherwise you will be having sudden blackouts.
No Workplace Comfort
You see, nobody thought about Covid-19 and its consequences and so very few people had work from home ideas. This literary means that many folks were caught offguard when told to work from home by their employers. The least they could do in this scenario is to turn some corner of their house, with a stool and a old table as their office. This is a far cry from the comfortable, rotating seats and convenient tables offered at the workplace. Besides, who will feel comfortable seated in a stool and bending on a small table the whole day?
No “brainstorming” sessions with office buddies
Here, boredom is the order of the day as all you do and think about is work and nothing else. You now don’t have access to the colleagues you used to brainstorm with, crack jokes and gossip along to make the day fantastic. When the usual jokes and discussions at the workplaces, you don’t even realize how the day ends. On the other hand, most days when working from home are usually too long. You also have no one to turn to when there is a work related issue that require brainstorming.
You don’t leave the house
You have been used to going out of the house and returning in the evening. However, this time round, you are just staying in the house 24 hours. You may not even go outside to talk to anybody since there is no reason for that. The whole day can actually go by minus you seeing or feeling the sunlight.
No sick day
You don’t have an excuse for failing to deliver your work. Since you are already at home, it proves difficult to deliver a doctor’s note, request for sick off or attend for your sick family member. You have to get your work done through all means.
