The Covid-19lockdown has recently forced most companies to adopt a different approach to work by allowing employees to work from home.
Dr Kelebogile Paadi, a senior lecturer in the School of Industrial Psychology and Human Resource Management at the North-West University (NWU), says the new regulations introduced by companies in the public and private sector to curb the spread of Covid-19 might be an answer to achieve a better work-life balance.
“Measures introduced by government in partnership with the public and private sector propelled many employers to implement various working arrangements. The main one being working remotely, as long as you could deliver the required outputs,” she says.
“However, this new normal did not go without challenges. For example, some were still sceptical and concentrated on the challenges that came along with this change and paid less attention to the opportunities and benefits.”
Dr Paadi says due to the health risks associated with Covid-19, many people find themselves with no option but to work from home, and surprisingly it did not take employers too long to put measures in place to activate these new work arrangements.
She says this has also proven that these work arrangements are possible and with proper planning much can be achieved.
“Many companies have reported that they are already re-evaluating their normal work practice and once the crisis has passed things won’t simply go back to normal. Some employees will continue working remotely, thus helping companies to save on expenditure for office space.
“This is not only beneficial to employers, as employees also benefit by spending less time traveling to work and being stuck in traffic.”
Dr Paadi adds that moving forward, the long-standing concern of work-life balance – which has been a relentless pursuit for both employers and employees – could also be addressed, especially for female employees who often have to choose between furthering their career or caring for their family.
“The current situation allows the whole family to be home, and once the pandemic is a thing of the past, the lessons learnt from working remotely will allow employers to think differently.”
According to Dr Paadi some employees will continue to work from home, allowing for more flexible time to complete their tasks and to be more productive than before with less distractions.
“Simultaneously, the much-needed work-life balance will be realised. This will also mitigate the effects of occupational stress and assist in eliminating social ailments caused by absent parents or guardians,” she says.
Dr Kelobogile Paadi.
