A majority of employers—particularly in traditional industries—do not allow work from home. Even as new-age startups are open to remote working, at larger companies, it’s an option that is often offered as a perk or for special needs. The coronavirus outbreak has, however, made remote working a necessity overnight. It was a drastic change for both, employers and employees, and while it brought down the fixed expenses like lease and rent for the employers, the employees did get over the happiness phase quite soon and started missing the much talked about “Our second home – Office”. They started feeling depressed, burntout, secluded and unimportant, had anxiety attacks and hit the rock bottom on self esteem, resulting in affected work.

While the entire world is talking about the nuances of working from home, a look at the other side of the coin shows a different and exciting angle to it. While you are distanced from your office bestie and chai time gossip, you do have the liberty of making yourself a nice whipped coffee or a kadak adrak wali chai, instead of the machine made.

Work from home would also mean that you have the chance to change your study room or bring in the new work furniture. And a little bit of change never did harm anybody! Swanky work desks, customised stationary, freedom to wear whatever you want (without bothering about what others will say), having lunch with family and the time saved in travel to and from office, are just some of the perks of working from home. And the best thing is, you get to bill all this to your employer! Yes, Majority of the employers are giving allowances in line with the New Normal. For instance, the Furniture and Hardware Fixture allowances lets the employees buy necessary equipment like ergonomic chairs, cushions and desks. There are also Technology allowances which looks after the employees’ need for Laptops, monitors, printers and reimbursement for mobile bills.

In India, Larsen and Toubro NxT, Mphasis, Infosys, HDFC Ergo, DCB Bank and similar organisations have provided all the necessary equipment, including laptops, internet connectivity and chairs to their employees to make WFH comfortable. At Google, employees were given $1000 to cover equipment costs. For those without a WFH allowance, such as Lennox India Technology Centre, employees were allowed to use their health and fitness allowance to purchase home-office supplies.

Work from Home is not as bad as it seems. And Change is inevitable. So when you have to change, why not embrace it with a dash of positivity and sunshine. And when it starts getting monotonous, take a break and find better relationships within the house. You never know how your younger brother or elder sister or even your spouse can be your new bestie.

“The grass is not always green on the other side of the pasture. It is greener where you water it.”