Journey of Work From Home (The cultural shift of the workspace)
We never had this idea that there will be a time when our whole company will be on work from home mode (at least not very soon). Although 80-90 percent of our employees easily get WFH whenever they want to because we follow the flexible working culture. Sometimes, life throws lemons at us and we have the opportunity to re-assess things (and make lemonade out of it). The COVID-19 crisis has certainly been lemons, forcing many of us to repurpose our home environments to create new ways of working. The high level of quality and effectiveness our colleagues have shown in these tough times has changed our minds. We still love the office environment and believe it adds immense value to informal learning and culture. Also, it is simply more fun to interact with colleagues in an office setting rather than through a monitor.
Work from home has its own rewards. There is no traveling, you can wake up 15 minutes before the office hours, have breakfast comfortably because there is no train to catch up, you can walk around in your happy pajamas, make time in between to play a game or two, give some time to your fitness goals. Coronavirus is upon us and the lockdown was necessary. The “work from home” talk with the HR team will probably go down in history.
Week 1 at home was more or less perfect but in the past two weeks, I’ve been changing my chair at home every day. I never thought I’d say this but I think I’m beginning to miss my office and my colleagues. If this saying is right that friends are the family we choose for ourselves, then our colleagues are the family we are contractually committed to be with for hours every day. Here's a nostalgia video. I know it's just been only 4 months but maybe this will help.
A Refresher we all need right now!!!
A Happy Hour Session
From the first virtual weekly all-hands to numerous video calls and messages, our people have adapted the new normal! While we do miss interactions and random ‘hello’s and ‘hey’s and coffee talks, some of us are enjoying working from home. We even have this 'Happy Hour Session' which is scheduled once in a week, to connect back with all. We play creative virtual fun games so that we don't miss our office fun activities. And because of this, we all get a session full of laughter.
Concretio Team on Video Call
Happy People enjoying the ultimate Happy Hour
What Are We Missing?
We are missing the office, terrific colleagues, video games, coffee, work lunches, office parties, celebrations, tea breaks, endless talks, discussions, walk around the office, running into people, sharing life stories, and trials of the daily commute. Lockdown has exposed what a true luxury human connection is. Take this, coming from an introvert. Collaboration tools are great, however, no amount of digital or technological advancement will truly replace or surpass authentic, in-person interactions.
Thanks To Our Team!
Our teams have done a fantastic job whether in the office or working from home. The adaptability shown is moving and exciting, with our people being flexible about how, and where, they work. Many of them have cherished the space to be closer to the family and have a break from the everyday commute, but are missing the connection that comes with working together. We would like to thank our people for helping and encouraging us to get to this point and embracing this next transition. While there'll be some bumps along the way, we're ensuring how we work together even better than before!
For now, The current circumstances strengthen us to transform and adapt much faster, take up new work approaches, and new ways to collaborate efficiently. This is just the start of a long journey, but we're very excited to be on the way to build this new story.
