Remote Work - A Perspective
You would be thinking why one more write-up on this subject? But individual experiences would differ, and I would like to share my insights anyway.
It’s been almost 2 years and 6 months, and most of us are working remotely. I believe it is a good time to share my perspectives and experiences working remotely. You would be thinking why one more write-up on this subject? But individual experiences would differ, and I would like to share my insights anyway.
Those are the days
Recently I was visiting my native place – a village in the North Karnataka region quite often due to some personal work. While coming back to Bangalore, I met young engineering graduates working in MNCs. In a casual discussion with them, they shared the incident, as one of their colleagues purged the key folders in the Linux box, without knowing the right kind of execution steps. It is unintentional. No matter how much we discuss over the Teams channel, at times we tend to miss key considerations, and failed to guide young professionals. IMO, remote work has a share of its negative influence specifically on budding software engineers as they are missing intellectually driven/passionate requirements & design workshops. Many people would learn just by observing the conversations among the senior staff.
I miss post-lunch conversations with my colleagues, they are more of lifetime friends (s) having worked together for close to two decades. There is a variety of subjects – those are outside office-related topics. You know, for us it is very easy to share an opinion on government policies, tax cuts, and personal investments as we are not accountable for those outcomes. Many senior IT professionals like me in India have become self-proclaimed financial advisors and we tend to brag to other guys on investments no matter whether they are interested in our advice or not 😊. Nevertheless, such conversions would act as a stress buster for us. Also, pulling each other legs on a fun-filling discussion would bring much-needed humor into our daily lives. As we tend to extend our long extended remote work, it has introduced a larger disconnect between people and relationships. The urge to meet and have casual chit-chat or team lunch parties is diminishing; though we are going to the office occasionally, it is more of a social gathering and brings the much-needed joy of meeting colleagues we haven’t met regularly. Going to the office occasionally would bring physical movement as compared to sitting at home with a sedentary lifestyle. At least it is true for me as I am not regular in physical exercises.
Be grateful
On the other side, remote work has given me the flexibility to plan my working hours. I can easily save close to 1-2 hours of commuting / or needless waiting for Uber / Ola cab services. It helped to assist my family with small domestic helps like visiting medical/grocery stores, dropping/bringing kids from the school van, visiting the school/doctor, having a mid-day meal with family/ small power naps, etc. IMO, it is the biggest incentive one can get from a remote working facility. We are few chosen once as our nature work would facilitate such opportunity. I love to read Kannada books, so at times if I am bored with technical work, it gives me the flexibility to read such books for a change. Simply we can’t carry a large collection of books to the office, right? end of the day home would bring such changes which are otherwise challenging.
Finally, a pandemic like COVID-19 changed our lifestyle to a greater extent. I have noted down a few thoughts during those days (early 2020-21).
1. The cost of living has never been expensive, it is the cost of lifestyle that is expensive.
2. Prepare yourself for economic adversities, do not adopt a lifestyle that you cannot sustain in difficult situations
3. Always pursue a habit that makes you joyful and brings peace to your mind
4. Ancient knowledge of Indian sages shall be relooked with a modern perspective and importantly adopt a simple daily routine
5. Help the needy in whatever way you can. Don’t shy away to contribute to the Country you belong to if the need arises
6. Appreciate the services offered by many individuals for our very existence
7. There is no parallel to human life
8. Always be in touch with close friends and relatives, and make casual calls frequently if your schedule allows
9. Importance of personal hygiene and social distancing will be the new norm in countries like India, which is otherwise present in many countries.
Balancing remote work with the need-based visit to the office for team-based activities / meeting colleagues in person is a way to go for me; provided the industry by and large thinks otherwise.