The future workplace, post-Covid-19

“DO you allow work from home (WFH), or do you have a hybrid work system in place?’’ are the two most frequent questions we get during job interviews, said the head of human resources of a large public-listed company.

The work from office vs work from home debate is the biggest dilemma facing employers today, and it is not only millennials who are demanding WFH as a criterion for employment.

As the pandemic fades, a workforce that has become accustomed to working remotely is pushing back against the transition to the office workplace, or to work life going back the way it used to be.

For the last two years, Covid-19 completely changed the way we work and travel in our daily lives. But, while there was some acceptance of working from home before the pandemic, there are companies that are now insisting that their employees return to the office.

These companies believe that a post-pandemic workplace is not the new normal. They feel that WFH is not sustainable and is not a long-term substitute.

This insistence on a work from office (WFO) system may be counterproductive in the long run. In Malaysia, there are multinational companies that are choosing to adopt a hybrid work system as we transition back from endemicity.

Let’s look at the pros and cons of both these systems. WFH affords you a better work-life balance, saves you time and money with no commute, and allows you greater mobility and flexibility. On the flipside, WFH means that distractions are aplenty, you need to invest in expensive equipment and you become less sociable.

WFO allows you face-to-face communication, a well-defined timetable and interaction with your co-workers. The disadvantages of WFO are enduring daily commutes, routine interruptions and an inflexible or rigid workday.

There are studies to show that working from home is more productive, but there are other studies that indicate working from the office is more productive. Both studies are not conclusive or definitive.

Both WFH and WFO have their advantages, and both have disadvantages. So, it makes sense that a hybrid alternative would be a suitable choice to marry the best practices of both these systems.

This compromise on the workplace environment – three days in the office, two days at home, or vice versa – come with its own set of problems but could become a viable alternative.

As an example, utilising a hybrid work culture allows an employee greater flexibility in choosing their work schedule and the travel time saved from a daily commute would mean greater productivity. And resuming work in the office on alternate days would also mean the chance of interacting with your colleagues is not lost.

It’s unlikely that a hybrid work system will be legislated in our employment act, but just imagine the potential of stress-free drives or commutes to the office without traffic jams just because a sizeable number of the workforce is operating from home?

The aforementioned HR head however cautioned that new employees should be required to work from the office for at least the first three months before going hybrid.

“It’s important that these newbies are taught the ropes in a workplace environment.

“You cannot start a career without face-to-face communication and interaction with your bosses or colleagues,” he told me, adding that communication was key during an employee’s first three months.

The other disadvantage that Malaysian companies face when instituting a hybrid work system is patchy internet connections.

Last wednesday was a case in point, when Maxis Home Fibre users experienced intermittent connectivity issues with the broadband service.

Many customers took to Twitter to complain that their connections were either down or terribly slow.

According to the website Down Detector, it started receiving numerous reports on the service disruption at about 3pm on Wednesday, with the reports appearing to be mostly from Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Johor.

It defeats the purpose of allowing your employee to stay at home only for him or her to return to the office because of a poor internet connection. We are still lagging behind many countries when it comes to internet speed. The 5G rollout continues to be plagued by numerous issues.

Working from home may not and cannot be an option for everyone because certain jobs do require you to be at the office – a security guard, for example.

But workplace trends have changed since the pandemic. Tech giants like Google, Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft and others are inclined towards a hybrid office model.

Malaysian employers cannot afford to be too rigid when it comes to a choice between WFO or WFH. For now, a hybrid employment appears to be the way forward.