The pandemic is apparently waning, but many employees are resisting the call to physically report for work and instead opt to continue working from home. Productivity has not been adversely affected, they argue.
As early as the seventies, social scientists have been predicting the trend to work from home. Author and future gazer Faith Popcorn called it cocooning. The need to go inside because the outside becomes scary. People sought to build a protection around themselves while earning to keep the roof above their heads.
People are seeking the security and comfort of their cradle. This could refer to those who wish to avoid the oppressive traffic, the pollution, the snatchers and manyakis in LRTs. Even the bad meals in plastic containers, or even the daily office intrigues.
The lockdowns uncovered that working from home does wonders for both the employees and the employers. The worker need not dress up and can be in her pambahay and still be efficient. Perhaps more so. She could be on social media and not be reprimanded for “wasted” hours. She could have better meals at home.
Meanwhile, the employer need not have a huge office and pay for superfluous energy and even furniture, thereby whittling down overhead costs. As long as he has stable digital connections, he is on top.
A son and two grandsons in college landed jobs online during the height of the pandemic. They never had it so good. My son was able to pay most of his debts, bought a brand-new car, and is thinking of building his own house next. My grandsons, while on their asses, earned in dollars, continued with their schooling, got new girlfriends with the “first dates” done online. That is life, right?!
Twenty years ago, we transferred from Quezon City to Tagaytay and decided to have our office in our domicile. This is a variation of wfh; it is w.a.t. or work at home.
We told clients and suppliers of our tiny multimedia company that we were going to go into cocooning 75 kilometers from the heart of Metro Manila, boldly having faith in digital connectivity. PLDT was a big let-down in Tagaytay. Its constant under-delivery was a huge irritant, but we got through it eventually by dumping the giant and opting for alternative servers.
In the last two years, we bagged several video production projects where most of the work were done at home. Though these afford us to crawl out of our cocoons to see the world and meet new people, I still hired videographers in Nueva Ecija and in Bicol to gather materials and just send them to us through Google.
Computer applications can be bought online, some computer hardware can be delivered to us through Ninjavan, storyboards could be sent to the client through Toktok, off-hours food through Panda or Grab, meetings with clients through Zoom, production pow-wows through Messenger. Pay people or for supplies through GCash. Risking the health hazards of being similarly sedentary, we worked on our seats day in and day out.
Last year too, we conducted a crisis media management with a bigger group for a pharmaceutical company. The entire process – from leveling off, to drafting plans, training key officers, etc. - was conducted through Telegram and Viber. I have an inkling that when I see some of my workmates in a mall one of these days, I will not be able to recognize them.
Digital technology, as any innovation introduced by humans to their daily lives, have their pros and cons. Cocooning become illusory when the things you want to avoid ironically become fixtures within it. Take, for example, the social media. They become overstaying guests you cannot get rid of. Social media have become more toxic than the horrendous traffic and the unceasing Marites or gossipers in the office. Those who wish to unwind and take comfort in Tiktok or Netflix but have found it addictive or distracting, ergo counter-productive.
Work and living norms are in a flux. They demand of us to look for the balance. Beyond all the changes or the apps out there, whether we prefer working from/at home or diving into a face-to-face environment, we should not lose track of life’s essential guidepost: that we have to look after our well-being - our mental, emotional, and spiritual health. Whether we are introvert or extrovert, we must also take to heart our social health. That we people must look after each other.