Before the spring of 2020, working from home was considered a massive advantage that many people strived for. Months later though, it has mostly become just a standard thing with its own pros and cons, and perhaps not the luxury it was once perceived as.
Representatives from Czech survey company Survio told Novinky about data they’re collecting regarding the home office trend.
“We certainly can’t refer to the home office as being a luxury anymore. Currently, most Czechs who are able to work like this due to the nature of their jobs consider it a routine and a necessity,” Lucie Černá from Survio said.
Černá says that many people are missing out on casual social interactions with their co-workers, and are feeling isolated.
“Employees are definitely lacking informal discussions with their co-workers. In this way, working from home today seems to them more of a punishment than as a perk.”
Survio says that through monitoring big companies in other countries, they can reasonably conclude that the trend of a home office will continue to take over the Czech Republic, and much of it will be more or less permanent.
“Overseas, we’re monitoring companies that are moving to smaller premises or just moving to a permanent home office system. I think that we will see something similar in our country as well… The rule that each worker has a fixed table will soon be a thing of the past. The offices will mainly serve as a place for meetings instead,” said Černá.
Černá also believes that one of the biggest effects of everyone working from home is the decline in interpersonal relationships, something that can hurt certain personality types more than others. She also notes the effect on the professional development of junior employees who need guidance and training.
“After several months of isolation, introverted personality types may have difficulty establishing informal relationships with colleagues. Long-term work-from-home also harms junior workers who need to be close to their experienced mentors.”
