During these times of crisis and pandemic, WFH (Work from Home) option had been well received by many professionals all around the world. Especially, for those who are lucky enough to keep working from home without losing their job is like a god’s gift. And, also there are many positive dimensions to this scenario like, better work life balance, less distractions, safety and peace of mind, being more productive, flexibility to work at your times and pace, reduce the travel time and cost of commuting and list goes on and on.
And, there could be opposite views as well like, with kids doing home schooling, Kinder and child-cares being closed are a big distraction, too many Zoom meetings, missing the face to face conversations and the joys of social interactions, being less productive because of lack of communication from the Team and Stake Holders, works hours are now all around the clock now. For example, I saw an email from a Stakeholder that was sent at 4AM today and some late night.
So, these are the two sides of a coin. There are some positives and some negatives. One might be able to focus more and productive whereas another person is distracted. Family people are distracted, and the bachelors are lonely. Whatever is the situation and the circumstances, during current times of restrictions and lockdown periods we need the make the best out of a bad bargain. Somehow. keep things moving.
As we know, these are all the things that can be managed and mitigated by Analysis, Planning, Design and Development, Testing, Implementation, Operations and Maintenance (Till end of 2020?).
And of course, we need to do a SWOT Analysis – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats, which we have already seen above, except Threats.
And, that brings me to the topic of this post, The Greatest Danger of Working from Home. One may wonder, what is the danger that is common to everyone WFH which could affect everyone, irrespective of Age, Gender, type of Job etc.
Yes, from the picture I posted above it should have been obvious. The Greatest Danger of Working from Home is to become glued to our Work Laptops and Chairs. Danger of becoming a Couch Potato. Just look at the poor Spider-Man, he can’t jump buildings and climb walls like before because, he like other responsible citizen stayed at Home and while staying got glued to the Laptop and chair.
I think, this is the greatest danger of working from home. Because, at home we feel that we are being disturbed (with kids) and try to ignore them and focus on the work without getting up. And, if one is alone – there is no one to disturb him and no reason for him to get up, rather than doing some meaningful work, which he is supposed to be doing anyway.
So, what happens when you sit in front of computer for long hours?
Apart from your musculoskeletal injuries like, back pain, neck pain, reduced immunity, putting up weight, your internal organs like, Liver, Pancreas, Heart might be silently getting affected.
I have just googled the above words and came back with a whopping 304,000,000 results (0.61 seconds).
Just for a taste posting this link and you have eternity to browse through all the articles,
The bottom line is simple. Just like the way, we are trying to be responsible by staying at home, we need to make it a point to get up and take a break every hour. Flex, stretch your muscles, joins and whole body. Set up a healthy routine like early morning Meditation, Yoga, Breathing exercises etc.
Make life interesting, do something that you haven’t done for a while. Get up and pick up that book in the shelf that you haven’t touched for yours. Read a random page.
Wishing you all the best. Please, leave your thought, comments and suggestions. May you all keep up the glory of the Spider-Man of prior Lockdown.
(This article was originally posted by me in my personal blog at : https://urbanyogi.co/2020/08/19/the-greatest-danger-of-working-from-home/ )