Work from Home - Why it’s not sustainable to build a culture

The pandemic has changed the course of our lives. With everyone forced to log in from home, the lines between work and personal lives have blurred. Even though most people enjoy working from home, they continue to be concerned about late evening calls or being available to chat on a whim, irrespective of the time of day. Compartmentalizing work and personal life has become difficult.  

From an employer’s perspective, perhaps the biggest concern has been the inability to physically meet and connect. And this has already started taking a toll on most companies’ already established cultures.  

A company’s culture is built solely by the people who belong to the organization. A strong culture is a reflection that the employees are the most important assets of the company. A company’s culture determines its goals and expectations. It motivates people to invest in their work and be more engaged in their duties. Work culture drives engagement and that consequently drives individual productivity as well as that of the company.  

One of the key things that drove the building of company culture was the presence of the employees in the office space. The remote workspaces make it difficult for an organization to solidify its company culture. Company-wide meetings, team-building activities, brainstorming sessions, and team meetings are all an intrinsic part of every organization’s fabric. With the absence of any sort of physical interaction, a company’s attempt to foster its values falls on deaf ears.  

The sudden shift in the dynamics of a workplace, owing to the pandemic, is leaving companies scrambling to keep their employees engaged and motivated. Without an engaged workforce, productivity drastically reduces. 

After understanding the role of employees in the workplace, it becomes easier to deduce why working from home could be unsustainable in the long run. It might not be impossible, there are virtual office spaces being developed to foster an office-like environment in the confines of your home. But it is difficult to bring about such change in a large company that thrives on physically interacting and connecting with its employees.  

Work from Home does have its perks. It allows employees to have a flexible work schedule, more control, less commute stress, and savings among a lot of other things. While employees have been reaping the benefits of working from home, companies are struggling to build a sustainable company culture with a greater part of their workforce working from home. Work from home benefits cannot be included in a company's long-term plan for its employees even though it contributes to the happiness and comfort of the employees. It will only continue to raise concerns regarding the culture of the organization.  

What could work wonders for a company working remotely is introducing a hybrid work culture that aims at striking a balance between working from home and working from a shared physical space. While you are able to enjoy the benefits of working from home for two days, you can also reap the benefits of communicating with your team outside the laptop screen. Hybrid work culture works best for the stakeholders as well as the employees. It addresses the need to physically be present at the office to foster a company culture without sacrificing the flexibility that work from home offers.