Those who know say that the COVID-19 pandemic is going to change our lives. That there will be a before and an after, and that teleworking is part of that after. A server has been teleworking for 10 years, so I think the same thing validates a master’s degree.
Day 38 of confinement. Today I am sensitive. I think I would be able to cry watching an episode of The Teletubbies. My life between these 4 walls alternates moments of euphoria with others in which my state of mind is, more or less, at the same level as the price of oil.
And the fault lies with Rozalén. He goes and has the idea to write a wonderful song about the lockdown. And he publishes it. A song with which anyone can feel identified and if it doesn’t stir something inside you is that you are made of Talavera pottery, which is no small thing. The song in question, which I leave here for the solace of your souls, is called «Aves enjauladas».
The reason for this post is not to give advice on how to telework, because for that you already have one including that you should NOT get blinded by pastries or sandwiches overflowing with fat while you work no matter how much your body asks you to, or your buttocks will end up overflowing from the chair and the screams of terror from your arteries will be heard even in the building of in front. I believe that it is so. About the innkeepers.
The idea of this post is to explain why telecommuting is going to be part of the “new normality” and can become established as something permanent. Go for it.
Will we continue with teleworking when the epidemic is over?
The thing has its pros and cons. What the Government has already advanced, in tune with the rest of the countries around us, is that the recommendation to telework whenever possible will extend well beyond the period of confinementProbably until there is an effective vaccine or treatment for COVID-19 (or both), which paints a time horizon of quite a few months. Plenty of time to get used to it, both the curritos and the companies.
In addition, there are 4 strong arguments that reinforce the idea that teleworking is here to stay:
A significant portion of employees working from home saves companies a lot of money.
Why’s that? Because It is no longer necessary to have huge buildings with thousands of square meters of offices, that cost a bundle, to house thousands of workers who can do exactly the same thing from their homes. This does not mean that employees do not visit the offices, but they can do so for face-to-face meetings, presenting reports, meeting with clients, etc. The important thing is that they do not need to be in the office all the time.
Climate change has not disappeared as the main threat to our future.
The countries, when this respite that we are giving the planet ends, will continue to have to drastically reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
And that implies two things: the change of the model of transport of people towards 100% electric models (something feasible in large cities that have a metro, but much more complex in smaller cities and dispersed towns, where the car or the bus rule) that has a considerable cost in adapting infrastructures and acquiring vehicles and, secondly, a drastic reduction in mobility.
Let’s not fool ourselves: electric cars are not going to be widespread tomorrow. In fact, its generalization may take longer than expected. If we need (and we really do) to act quickly on greenhouse gas emissions, the global lockdown is showing us that the recovery of air and water quality is tremendously fast if the volume of traffic is reduced.
We are seeing unusual images. Fish and dolphins in the canals of Venice, whose waters have become transparent. Wild animals roaming the deserted streets. Cities with clear and clean skies. It is very simple to check empirically: if you live in a big city, despite the light pollution, look up at the sky at night. You will see many more stars than before. If teleworking is an option to reduce mobility and, therefore, pollution, It is very possible that it will end up imposing itself as a fundamental tool in the fight against climate change..
Telecommuting reduces stress and improves quality of life
You don’t have to put up with the co-worker who thinks he’s too smart/is a climber/always complaining. Substitute partner for boss or boss. Well, you have to put up with them via video conference or email, which allows you to shit on their m and vent quietly at home.
But it’s not just about stress at the office. It’s also about that telecommuting allows workers to earn one or two hours a day of life, which is the time lost commuting to work and back home, depending on where you live. No need to put up with traffic jams and delays on public transport.
The networks are holding the pull
Network traffic has risen almost exponentially during confinement, not only because of work but (above all) because of the greater demand for streaming television and movies. It is true that large platforms such as Netflix or YouTube have collaborated by reducing the quality of their broadcasts to occupy less bandwidth, but 5G technology is supposed to solve that problem. The fact is that the feared collapse of the internet has not occurred.
Ok, great, but what about productivity?
Companies are infected with another virus, which comes from the 20th century, if not the 19th: face-to-face.
We have the obsession with the “control” of the worker, something that we think can only be done if the boss is present and whips out the whip from time to time. To that we must add the reunionitis, another widespread disease that consists of holding marathon meetings that leave your neurons on the brink of snow because “that’s how you get a project off the ground.”
The next day you can’t be productive even with a crane.
And after two days you review the project and realize how many things need to be changed, so you end up calling another meeting.
There are numerous studies, carried out in the academic field and also by large companies, that deny that face-to-face work is more productive than teleworking. The data says just the opposite: companies that have implemented teleworking have more productive and more satisfied workers. And that is not now.
All this time of confinement and restrictions is going to open the eyes of many managers of companies, large and small. It is a gigantic test on teleworking on a global scale.
We will have to see the results and the studies that will undoubtedly be done on this, but the evidence is there. We have enough technology so that it can be controlled that workers do not waste time when they are working at home. Besides, we don’t even need it, because productivity control is very low-tech that one can imagine: you have X hours to do X work.
Of course, we will have to continue going to the office, as I said at the beginning. There will be people who prefer it because their home does not meet the minimum conditions for teleworking. But companies will do well to study the data carefully. and make teleworking a priority option. It is a matter of numbers, neither more nor less.
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