Today - WFH - Tomorrow

My WFH setup

This week I posed these two questions to friends, family, neighbors and colleagues:

1. What is your single biggest observation about your Work-From-Home (WFH) experience thus far?

2. What do you think will be a salient element in the new normal (let's say a year out)?

In just 3 days, I received over 75 responses from around the world.  (Thank you!)  All the responses were very thoughtful and reflective of our collective experience. The break-down was 50-50 National-International and 70-30 Male-Female. Average age was 50, lowest being 30 and highest being 70.

There were a few responses in particular that were grounding in terms of testing the assumptions of both my questions above.

Regarding the first question, my friend from Singapore asked that we think about the definition of "work" more carefully.  The term WFH assumes one can WFH.  A barber, a farmer or a dentist would not be able to work from home in the current circumstance.  However, a lawyer, a teacher and a financial advisor might be able to.  Also, my friend posed this question, "are meetings considered work?"

Regarding the second question, my friend from Michigan wondered if it was folly to try and predict the future.  So while he did respond to my note to him thoughtfully, given his philosophical inclinations declined to predict what the world might look like a year out.

My friend from Philadelphia raised a psychological question.  He wondered if extroverts and introverts are responding to this WFH experience differently.

Also, there was a wan response as well and it rhymed too!  For Q1 the one word response was tipple and the for Q2 a similar one word response was ripple.

With those caveats accounted for, the range of responses was fascinating, yet they had common themes.

For question#1, regarding the single biggest observation about the current WFH experience, the most commonly expressed terms included:

On the Plus side: 

- Higher productvity

- Better concentration without too many interruptions

- More collaboration

- Reduced commuting

- Better balance between work and personal needs - including getting projects done around the house

- More engagement with friends and family than ever before

- The full house much more utilized than in the past

On the negative side
- More screen time
- More meetings
- Longer hours
- Missing banter
- More tired by end of the day
- Business that had a 100% on-site component, had nearly zero WFH opportunity (installation business)

Mixed responses:

- The initial spurt of productivity is beginning to wane

- People reported better or worse experience depending on available space in the house

- Mixed experience trying to work with younger vs older children in the house.

- Some are getting more exercise and some less

- Some are eating better and others not

For question#2, regarding what the new normal might be one-year out, the most commonly expressed terms included:

Social change:
- New norm around physical distancing and greeting habits

- Wide spread health screening and tests 

- Acceptance and accommodation of a new era of uncertainty

- Questioning the role and scope of nursing homes 

- Increased home delivery

- Better recognition of importance of community

- More new shocks to the system (cyber security for example)

- Since in-person meetings will become rarer, they will become more precious and valued

Radical change in business models:

- Dramatic shift to online payments away from physical cash

- A redefinition of what "office" means

- Companies will accommodate flexible schedules

- Entrepreneurs will incorporate flexible schedules

- Employees will demand new employee benefits reflecting the new realities

- Hybrid meetings, seamlessly combining in-person and virtual engagements

- Determine which meetings need travel and which do not

- Lesser planning windows for large meetings

- Less emphasis on face time in the office (especially in traditional cultures like in DC)

- Reduced real estate

- Reduced expenses on travel and other amenities 

- More part time work and more gig economy work

- More automation

There was a lament:
- Fewer frequent flyer miles!
 
Some of my favorite quotes from the responses include:

On community
"In our suburban neighborhood many, many more families strolling, kids riding bikes in twos, walkers talking to each other from across the street, people hanging out in the drive way with an informal socially-distanced get-together with maybe one neighbor family."

On virtual meetings
"As far as the future is concerned, I really believe this will have lasting impact on many behaviors.  I think that virtual meetings with clients and prospects will stay with us permanently.  It saves time for the client and for us.  It used to be that a client might feel that you are insulting them by suggesting that they were not important enough for a face to face meeting but now virtual meetings are the only option and I think people are enjoying the convenience.  I think this sticks with us. "

On Housing
"The strong trend toward dense, transit related housing will be re-examined as young people weigh the relative benefits, burdens, and costs of urban vs. suburban/rural living. Employers will be increasingly evaluated based on their family-friendly characteristics—leave, caregiving, remote work policies, etc."

On equality
"While my physical distancing resulted from a catastrophic accident, most people will encounter some form(s) of disability as they get older. .... Working from home can remove the onerous commuting process and it can be a big plus for those with disabilities."

Thank you to all for responding so promptly and thoughtfully.

I suppose the most important response of all was expressed in the form of a hope:

I hope to heck there is a COVID-19 vaccine! If not, we’re in big trouble...."