What Are the Consequences of Permanently Working From Home?

While for some people this is the ideal setting to balance their personal and work life, for others it means a sullen and unsociable environment with little exposure to the world of work.

As some companies realize the economic benefits of having part of their staff working from home, there are more and more signs that this type of routine will become a long-term trend, which could generate more job insecurity. According to columnist Caitlin Fitzsimmons, if a person's work can be done from anywhere, they are not necessarily going to keep their city salary and even will have to compete in an international job market.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella agrees. In an interview this week for the New York Times, he said that working at home has benefits but also risks, as working in an office is essential for social interaction. "What I miss is when you walk into a physical meeting, you are talking to the person that is next to you, you are able to connect with them for the two minutes before and after," he said.

In the 'COVID-19 and Home Office' survey, carried out by The Wellness and Productivity Project last week, it was found that 41 percent of Mexicans who work from home due to the COVID-19 contingency worked longer hours and stayed more time connected to attend professional matters.

While the government plans to gradually revive economic activities starting May 18, 25 percent of respondents said they would continue to work from home if requested by their employers and 59 percent say they would be willing to do so only once or twice a week after this date. Meanwhile, 16 percent said they would "definitely not" continue working from home.

Ben Fanning, author of ‘The Quit Alternative: The Blueprint for Creating the Job You Love Without Quitting’ wrote that for some people, working from home is like “being on a remote island.” "If you have been working with people for a while, you had that connectivity and face-to-face meetings and you were used to that work environment. Now all of a sudden you ARE working remotely with little connectivity; that really creates a big problem," he explained. 

Keeping Up With the Trend

Last week, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey emailed the company’s employees letting them know that they would be allowed to work from home permanently depending on the functions they fulfill, even after COVID-19 homebound restrictions are lifted. He did the same yesterday with its employees from Square.

Facebook told its employees they can work from home until 2021. Google also moved its return to work date from June to December and Microsoft extended the deadline through October 2020.