Going to office? The dilemma in COVID19 scenario

 

 

 

I believe that, all those places where work cannot happen without physically ‘going’ & ‘being’ at that place, like, a grocery store, a farm, a pharmacy or hundred other places, they can’t be classified as being an office!

Lawyers, bankers, accountants, consultants of all kinds, and similar professionals / services, who are ‘worried’ when they might be able to “go back to the office”, from whom are they expecting the answer? When we all know (& if we don’t, it’s high time we do), the answer is, it’s not going to happen, at least not in foreseeable future, no matter what administration says!! Expert Scientists & Doctors tell us that those benchmarks will not be met in 2020 at-least.

 

So, today & in near future, the world is going to be divided only between those who have to go to their place of work and those who can work from home. Understand that, the important term here is ‘WORK’ & not ‘GOING’.

 

 

> Question #1: If your company decides to reopen & you can drive to the office, but your assistant / support team has to take public transport, are you really going to force them to come into the office?

 

>  Question #2: If your support team is not there, is there any reason for you to go to workplace?

 

>  Question #3: If some can’t come to the office, and some are on video rather than in-person in meetings, then why not just have everyone on video?

 

 

 

>  Question #4: Just because the support staffs are surviving pay-check to pay-check, is it fair that they’ll have to take the risks that their bosses are unwilling to?

 

>  Question #5: Do you want to be the bad boss who makes them take those risks & doesn’t want to be in the office with them or will remove them from jobs for the want of not being in the office?

 

>  Question #6: Why can’t they (unlike others) wait until vaccine gets available?

 

>  Question #7: Would you really want those who have children at home, without schools open, to feel like they are mediocre citizens because they have to come to office and others don’t?

 

>  Question #8: If going into the office involves social distancing, with only having half of a team in at any one time, you’ll actually not be having any meetings in person — while everyone has just gotten used to the new normal of a video meetings & online working, why not use that?

 

>  Question #9: Even when the vaccine is out, do you feel that everyone at your workplace will be able to afford it? And if not, will they end up losing their jobs also because they can’t afford it?

 

>  Question #10: Being leaders or bosses or entrepreneurs, shouldn’t we be rather finding ways to make each & every human resource useful, instead of pushing them to rejoin office?

 

 

 

Is that so because for all of us, the concept of “going to the office” / “coming to the office” is directly proportionate with receiving salaries or income?  Or is it because of the sheer feeling of losing the jobs or clientele? Do we think that it’s merely ‘going to the office’ that makes us eligible for the payments? Given current reduction in travel time, flexible working hours, etc., is the lock-down not supposed to enhance our productivity rather than reducing it? Why do we still traditionally want to believe ‘working from home’ equals to ‘not working’ (even when there are hundreds of businesses that are functioning exclusive on this model, pandemic or no pandemic)? Why the criteria has to be ‘working time’ (or presence at place of work) rather than output?

 

If not that, why’s “going to office” of such a grave importance! This Pandemic has hence posed a challenge of leadership & that of humanity before us!

 

Those of us who are Leaders of the Organizations and in Strategic Decision-making Positions, we have an opportunity to redefine “office” dynamics. Shouldn’t we rise to the occasion & make use of that opportunity for the betterment of the community, instead of simply asking everyone everyday – “When we are going back to the office?” “When are you coming back to the office?”