Virtual Workplace: A new normal for the organisations

The current pandemic, COVID-19, has brought the whole life on earth at a standstill. Realising the urgency to change our attitude, the people even after 8 months are still struggling to adapt to this new normal. With all the economic activities coming to a complete stop, one idea which helped the companies to keep their work going was remote work or popularly known as work from home (WFH). Life changed in split of a second. The huge office buildings and expensive furniture stood futile while the old wooden table and the plastic chair became the place where the people are spending their majority of the day in this lockdown doing their office work on their system. The purpose of this research is to investigate the pros and cons of this not new idea. The research is also important for the literature because it is not from a single view point rather a detailed study considering all the possibilities and even accounting for the minute effects on the society as a whole. The research will touch upon dimensions like whether WFH is a good idea for the ecological balance or not. We have divided the stakeholders into two broad groups, primary stakeholders i.e., the employees, the facilitators, etc. and the secondary stakeholders i.e. other businesses that are indirectly dependent on these companies as everything in a city (where these companies are situated) is directly or indirectly linked. Also, whether or not execution of this idea is even possible in a country like India. While the idea looks very captivating, the implementations of the same is far from easy. The research will be based on secondary data analysis integrated with personal observation to determine the future of remote work in the long-term. This research acts as food for thought for the companies who are thinking to adopt the idea of remote work for all their employees. The research divides the various factors affecting the success of WFH into two broad categories. First, Internal Factors i.e. human psychology, the level of technical know-how, mental health, time management, etc. and second External factors i.e. India’s lack of IT infrastructure, people’s access to various resources required, the organisational environment of the employer company etc. This study ignites the curiosity by critically analysing the discussed concept showing how far India has to go to come at par with the world’s biggest economies in the race of getting everything back on track by adopting new methods to cope with the social distancing and other safety norms, while fighting the pandemic alongside. The results of this research provide a clarity and a better understanding on the impact that the concept WFH can have on the society both directly or indirectly while also motivating and sensitizing the audience to have an open mind before making a decision.