The outbreak of the novel corona virus (COVID-19) has infected more than 14.5 million people globally. As strict lock-downs have been implemented in most countries, the pandemic has significantly changed the lives of billions of people. Individuals in many countries are asked to self-quarantine to prevent the spread of this virus, the outbreak has also led to unprecedent changes in the work culture across the globe, spanning most, if not all, industries. When many businesses failed to implement social distancing protocols due to the nature of the industry and are required to shut down operations, others implemented the concept of WFH, better known as work from home.
WFH is a concept not so alien for the IT industry. Many individuals opt for WFH, with reasons ranging from personal to professional. However, in India, it is less than common to observe individuals who permanently work from home, rather than opt to do it on a rare basis. The current situation however, presented the country at large with difficult times. With work from home being the only option, employees and employers had to make major changes in the working environment. We, at PSI, have also taken similar measures and have implemented work from home. We highly value the safety of our employees, thus, we also encourage everyone to follow social distancing protocols.
The first step towards implementing WFH and adjusting in this pandemic was to identify and take the proper measures for everyone’s safety. Our networks department first listed out the important services and repositories. Subsequently, we began implementing the essential changes. Serious security measures were also taken. Dual authentication, VPN and substantial passwords were mandated to add an extra layer of security for all our devices and data.
Nevertheless, WFH does have its drawbacks. Initially, people who were unfamiliar with WFH faced certain difficulties. Some People also struggled with time management issues and often found themselves in a dis-balanced state between official work and household chores. At times, the unstable internet caused several problems for employees when it came to working on tasks or attending meetings. However, the elephantine issue which troubled everyone the most, even the ones familiar with WFH, was going to office and being around their colleagues. They found themselves getting bored at home and missed interacting with people in their social groups. However, everyone at PSI worked hard to achieve their goals and finally were able to overcome all these drawbacks. People steadily eased into the WFH environment, improved their productivity, worked efficiently and were able to manage their time.
On the bright side though, many people significantly benefited from WFH. The flexibility in working hours was a major plus point for many individuals. People claimed that they could easily shift between household chores and work due to the increase in flexibility. A lot of them also claimed that their productivity had improved. Most importantly though, work from home did not hinder the work for many employees and their performance wasn’t affected. Subsequently, A lot of time was saved as the need to travel was not there anymore. People utilized this time to enhance their skills, gain certification to improve their performance at work, and worked on personal development too. They looked at this as an opportunity to spend time with their loved ones too.
Although these are trying times, we at PSI tried to make the best out of the situation and have not let this pandemic affect our health, safety or our business. The PSI family gave it best shot to support, grow and work together to produce stupendous results.
