City’s growing work-from-home force strikes balance between work and life

Imagine not having to face the Monday blues and gruelling traffic snarls, all while being more efficient and effective at your job! For professionals in the city, who work from home, this is their reality, every day. However, having the best of both worlds may not be the fairytale for many who have the feeling that they do not have a good work-life balance and mental strain.

Once starting his own company, an educational assist company called Niruktha Learning Solutions, Bhargav Raghunanthan had clients primarily in other states. For the last three years, he has been working from home.

“The best thing about working from home is the flexibility it gives me. I get to set my hours. Based on how much I worked for one week, I can take the next week easy. On a micro-scale, I can even step outside for a movie or watch a match as long as I plan ahead,” said the 35-year-old.

According to Prithvi Yen, an online educator, working from home signals to employees that they are trusted enough to complete their roles, and boosts their confidence. Additionally, the reduced commute hours are a boon, which leads to more effectivity and efficiency.

“As a creative person, working from home is a boon because this is usually the place where I feel most creative. It also gives me the luxury to relax on the days I have artist’s block, or go to some place where I feel as if I can work properly,” said Bhavya Sundar, who runs an Instagram page, @inkbmadras, which sells customised stationery.

Working from home also means taking care of the house and household responsibilities more, they said. “As my wife goes to the office and is out for the most part of the day, it is me who mostly manages the house. There is a proportional division of the house responsibilities. Since I’m present at home, naturally more things come to me. Not only that I am available at home, but I also have the flexibility to attend to other things,” said Yen, who has been working from home for the last three years.

But this is not the case for all such professionals. According to Sundar, who stays with her parents, she has noticed a fall in her share of work for the family. “Usually, when my mom asks me to help with household chores, I don’t say no. However, I get to feel that time could be better spent doing work. Due to this mindset, I think I’ve gradually slowed down in helping out at home,” said the 23-year-old.

This inability to strike the right kind of work-life balance has affected other professionals who work from home. Sundar explained that the lack of a clear office space led to her working longer hours and taking up more than she can chew.

“Initially, balancing work and life was very hard. I went through some troubles with that for about two months initially. Eventually, though you are forced to learn self-discipline and time management to avoid such a thing happening. The opposite also has happened – I have slacked off because it is difficult to train your mind back to work when you are at home. So self-discipline works in both cases,” said Raghunanthan.

Yen tackled these issues by setting up a separate room in his house, dedicated only for work. When he sits at that table, he said, he is focused only on work, and when he does not sit there, he is at home.

But, said Yen, the resources and infrastructure provided by offices to professionals are absent at home. Setting up these systems – in Yen’s case, as he takes classes online, comes in the form of a router, strong Internet connection, and back-up generator-run router – is an investment working professionals must make. Sundar explained that she too invested in digital drawing tools such as a tablet when starting six months ago.

“You need to get those systems set up because you cannot give a client an excuse that work was not done because you did not have those resources. Employers don’t usually reimburse those costs, as working from home itself is a perk and privilege that you have,” said Yen.

Aside from this, the socialisation and community aspect of offices are missed. Water-cooler talk and tea breaks are out of the question when working from home. Due to this, most socialisation occurs with clients. However, these professionals stated that it was not a big issue as they had personal lives that flourished due to their flexible hours.

According to Dr Ennapadam S Krishnamoorthy, psychiatrist and founder of Buddi Clinic, striking the right kind of work-life balance is individualistic and differs from person to person. However, this balance is very important and must be set firmly, he said.

“Working from home does require a lot of self-control and time management, which some people do not have or have in varying levels. Most of the people who have these skills are usually higher up in the ladder because lower-level employees do this for them. The key is for these employees to grasp the concepts quickly,” he said.