I have been working from home since I joined Canadian Tire four years ago. The only time I went to the office was to attend a training for three days. I admit, that spending the “official nine to five” work cycle in the office reinvigorated me and energized my spirit. Last month, we got an email from the head of our Human resources department that come October, all the employees of Canadian Tire would have to work from the office for four days a week. The notice came as a surprise to me since the company has had a very liberal approach towards working from home.
Like most employers, Canadian Tire also switched to a full-fledged work-from-home model at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Before that, the company followed mostly a hybrid policy, although employees had the privilege to work from their homes as and when required. There was no compulsion to go to the office every day in our five-day working week. The notice made me ponder the new “corporate strategy”. Is the work from home approach good? Is it efficient? In my earnest opinion, it is not. Here are my two cents on why I think working from the office benefits both the employee and the employer.
There is no better place to work than an office to build strong comradery among a corporation’s staff members. It creates professional cohesion that enhances team building skills among the employees. Working from the office also builds a disciplined environment. People do not have the luxury of taking a “nap” during their working hours and have to be cognizant of the time. It creates a greater sense of responsibility among all its employees. Let me draw a parallel from my tenure in PGi, my first Canadian employer. I had to give a presentation at 10:00 AM EST. The free flow of ideas and thoughts among my colleagues who were “physically” present in the presentation room enriched everyone’s professional experience. It created an “emotional connection” with my task at hand. Can we have the same experience and connection had the entire activity been done remotely on our laptops? The answer is a categorical no.
Not only is work from the office beneficial to an individual, it brings enormous benefits to the company as well. Employees have fewer distractions and focus more on their deadlines. It makes the employees efficient thereby increasing the productivity of the organization as a whole. People do not engage in “unprofessional” activities during their work hours like preparing for an exam, applying for educational programs, or just applying for other jobs. While I do agree that everyone has the right to engage in these activities to boost their careers ahead, it should not be done at the cost of work and their existing “paying” jobs.
An argument is sometimes made that by letting its employees work from home, an organization saves the cost of operations. One case in point is that it does not have to pay for electricity bills, thereby implying that it saves the costs of maintaining its premises. I would disagree with this line of thought and argue that if employees work from the office, it increases their competency and efficacy. It improves the “per capita performance” of an employee which consequently enhances the overall productivity of the employer. Deadlines are met in time which further implies that the management can meet their business objective without delays. This for certain adds to the overall revenue of the organization. Furthermore, when projects are completed without any impediments, it creates goodwill for an organization among both its internal and external stakeholders.
An establishment is not only about Laptops, hardware, and other apparatus. It is also not about sitting within our “isolated silos” at our homes. It encompasses all those person-to-person interactions, both at professional and personal levels that make us better and committed employees. Without an iota of doubt in my mind, I welcome the notification from my employer to work from the office.
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