Since the public health situation is improving, we can share our impressions about working from home already from our comfy office chairs with an unlimited supply of coffee. And yet we are still left wondering – is this it? Or will this working model now become the new norm?
📅 June, 2020
Will work from home become the new norm?
Almost three months have passed since the world went on lockdown. During this time we not only managed to wear out our favourite slippers, to gain (or lose) a few kilograms, but also to contemplate what life will be like “after everything”.
Since the public health situation is improving, we can share our impressions about working from home already from our comfy office chairs with an unlimited supply of coffee. And yet we are still left wondering – is this it? Or will this working model now become the new norm?
Work from home – a positive experience 🏡
During the quarantine, more than 90 per cent of Paysera employees worked from home.
Halfway through the quarantine, we conducted a survey of different Paysera teams to find out how they are managing with work, communication, and leisure during these times of uncertainty. The survey results were more than positive. And it gave us peace of mind to know that with such an optimistic crew, Paysera can feel confident in any times of trouble.
The majority of people positively evaluated their work-from-home experience and appreciated working for a sector and company that can still operate during the lockdown.
“I’m glad I can work from home, as I can protect my family’s and my own safety during the pandemic.”
“It’s a completely new experience. While working from home I felt productive when it came to working, but at the same time I could spend more time with my family and spare some time for myself.”
Benefits – time, family, comfort 🤗
We unanimously decided – the main benefit of working from home is the time that one saves from not needing to travel to and from the office. 95 per cent of colleagues voted for this advantage of remote working. Most of them said that they spent this extra time with their families or simply doing activities they love. Mostly these were – sports, watching webinars or series, and cooking!
Also, most of the employees (89 per cent) said that they feel as productive at home as in the office, or sometimes even more productive. And just 1 out of 10 admitted that the home environment negatively affected their efficiency.
What did we miss the most? 🥺
One Lithuanian proverb says that it is difficult when you have to work, but when you don’t – you miss it. Or something like that! And to be honest, after the very first days of enjoying relative freedom, we realised that office life is much more than just a comfortable ergonomic chair, height-adjustable desk, and free snacks. It’s also friends, coffee breaks, inspiring meetings… One-third of the respondents in our survey said that it is difficult to work from home because they miss their colleagues.
Meanwhile, 1 in 5 noticed that from home they often overwork and can’t properly relax after work hours. In order to be not only productive but also well-rested, we shared work-from-home tips with each other.
“The main tip is to plan both work time and rest time. When you have children, your days are like a marathon. But everything is possible once you set some goals and guidelines.”
“A great way to separate work from leisure is to use two computers - work and personal. Once I finish working, I disconnect the keyboard, mouse, and internet cable from the work computer and plug it into my personal one. It helps me not to stumble back into work.”
So, how will this period affect our work practices in the future? Will it, after all, become the new norm?
Obviously, now we will appreciate everything much more – colleagues, office comfort, lively chatter. And even if working from home does not become an everyday thing, the lessons we learned when operating an international fintech from home will surely stay with us and our working hours (or environment) will become more flexible than before the lockdown.
Even before now, most Paysera employees enjoyed a flexible schedule and had some remote working experience from workations and when working with remote teams in other countries. After this period we can basically call ourselves veterans of this field.
Finally, we are very happy that even during the quarantine, more than 20 new people have joined our team. They were hired remotely and introduced to work with all the necessary precautions. This practice will also be used to hire more people abroad.
We hope that you too had a useful and meaningful time when working from home during this period of uncertainty. And if you used these months simply for resting or working on your hobbies but now you feel that you are ready to “get back on track” – check out our vacancies, as we constantly look for more people to join our team.
