Hearing that a lot of companies are finally going remote or adopting a hybrid work/life policy gives me mixed feelings.
I am a little excited because finally, we are making much-needed progress in the workforce but I am heartbroken because it took something as extreme as the fuel subsidy removal for companies to adopt such relaxed measures.
Now that there is no fuel and people are finding it difficult to commute to their places of work, companies are realizing that there is no need for their employees to go to the office every day and I am confused as to why it had to take us this long to get to this point in life.
It is no news that most corporate jobs can be done from home. In fact, international companies have been taking advantage of this knowledge and diversifying their workforce for the longest time now.
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But when it comes to Nigeria, the story must be different. It took Nigerians hardship and suffering to fully grasp that as long as you are not a bricklayer or offering some form of manual labor, you can work from home. It is like we need the worst to happen before we can make the necessary changes.
I saw a post from a human resource personnel saying she wishes she did not have to issue a work-from-home directive in her office.
She said this because she knew she would end up using her time to force employees to do their jobs as some might abuse the privilege.
As usual, I had mixed feelings. I understand that a lot of employees can take advantage of their newly found freedom and opt to sleep in or go to the market or someplace instead of working but the truth is rules are made for a reason.
A human resource manager saying she would prefer everybody go to the office just screams laziness to me. Of course, employees would love to test their boundaries but it is your job as HR to implement strategies to curb such infractions.
They say iron is only forged after going through the fire. Such strategies are meant to be tested in order to strengthen the workforce. If as HR you had implemented your policies and tested them out, you would feel very comfortable giving a compulsory work-from-home order.
Honestly, we need mental reorientation in this country. If your employees could work from home, please adopt these practices. Let’s not always chose to suffer.
Enough is enough, Nigerians. Don’t wait until the going gets tough before choosing the easier route.
