Unrestricted thoughts - Work from home

In his picture taken on March 19, 2020 Yuki Sato, an employee in a start-up company, works from home as a result of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus in Tokyo, as his wife Hitomi (C) washes the dish and his daughters Yurina (L) and Hinano do their homework while the schools are closed. - AFP

MANY people in Malaysia and around the world are doing something they are not used to. Work has come to their homes and people are remotely working from their residence to get their jobs done.

It is a unique experience for many. Yes, people have done some aspects of work from their home in the past but a 9-to-5 job certainly is a novel experience. It is not for all jobs now but it is certainly for people who can get their work done remotely.

The outbreak of Covid-19 has forced the hands of many and will this new way of work/life balance change the dynamics of many industries after the world recovers and moves on from this episode?

Right now, the answer seems to be yes. Companies and employees are finding that some work can be done remotely from the confines of the homes of employees. How is productivity with such an arrangement will be studied later. Right now, it’s business survival. Later experts can dissect the virtues between operating dynamics such as productivity and cost to see if there is a long-term benefit for both the employer and their staff members.

Technology has facilitated the change in working addresses. People have smartphones today that are way more powerful than computers from more than a decade ago and can run a suite of productivity apps that allow work to be conducted from a distance and on the go.

Video conferencing apps like Zoom have brought to attention the power of such tools and the ability to connect from different parts of the country. There are many such apps and to show the value they bring and people are seeing the value of such technology. There was a report that the market capitalisation of Zoom was way more than all the US airlines combined.

We are also seeing that technology being played out is education. Students rushing back to their homelands from countries like the UK or Australia are now having online classes for their lectures from thousands of kilometres away. Even school-going children are now harnessing the various online platforms to make sure their studies do not suffer from this prolonged self-isolation.

There is still the social divide question that needs answered as going to a classroom eliminates the issue between the haves and have nots. Governments will have to intervene to ensure the underprivileged children do not suffer from the lack of access but have the same opportunities others who can afford the tools to benefit from online learning.

Like many other things, there will be a cost to it. The Internet has changed the way people consume media and even how they buy goods and services. Buying clothes and groceries are now a click away and although that option has existed for some time, forced self-isolation has seen people gravitate towards such options out of necessity. It may become their preferred choice in time, given some of the cost benefits.

The price may then fall on real estate. Right now, there are too many malls and shops on high streets abroad and even large established malls have suffered from the onslaught of online shopping. Natural attrition may just accelerate to create a larger overhang of shops and offices.

If social distancing becomes a way of life, then expect the business of central kitchens and delivery to feature more in the future as restaurants start dealing with changing social norms.

There has been precedence for how a life-changing event shakes up the way the world lives. Think 9-11. Many had taken security to be something to guard things of value. But there is no greater value than life and the security industry has boomed since that day in September 2001.

Like then, the value of life and work may seek a new equation, going forward.