OPINION: The positives of working from home
Currently, due to the coronavirus, many people are stuck at home, following the shelter-in-place orders across much of the country. This has caused people to have a hard time continuing their job, education, or even chores like buying food or toilet paper.
During the shelter-in-place, it is important that people continue their jobs because many parts of how society functions rely on certain people working. However, for nonessential workers, it can be difficult to keep up motivation while working from home as some impact society less than others. Despite the circumstances, non-essential workers should try to continue doing their jobs from home and focus on the many positives that can come from the situation.
Some benefits include not having to care much about appearances since people do not need to leave their house. This can be beneficial to people because one would not be at risk of losing self-confidence or stressing about what others would think of them. Another positive to working at home is that there is usually always a bathroom nearby in the house, and there would most likely not be a waiting line for it like there could be at an office.
Other positives include getting used to being monitored by superiors and having meetings online, learning more about how to work digitally and learning to speak better since body language is no longer as important. People should try to work on these qualities so they can improve at their job after the pandemic, and working virtually helps these skills improve.
Continuing to work also helps people stay in the habit of a routine. Losing motivation and a set schedule won’t happen during the shelter-in-place if jobs are still maintained like normal. Also, working will be a helpful distraction to keep people inside and to not think about leaving the house.
In the end, if people focus on the positives of working from home, such as not being at risk of losing self-esteem, gaining skills and maintaining a routine, the shelter-in-place can pass easier.