The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many companies to rethink their business practices completely as they have been asked to allow their employees to work from home during the lockdowns and the curfews. Without a doubt, many organizations and their employees will undoubtedly find themselves unwitting participants of this experiment. Will it force companies to rethink their strategies? Will it lead to more fruitful outcomes? Will this result in more robust organizational planning? It remains to be seen.

Remote working is not a completely new concept in the country and has been gaining traction, especially in IT fields, but considering that not many in Sri Lanka have experience with the concept, shifting into this new normal of working from home will take some getting used to. There's no question that this is a minefield rife with numerous challenges pertaining to a lack of proper infrastructure and logistics, leaving many having to pull rabbits out of their hats.

But as most Sri Lankans are now discovering, working from home can be a desolate and lonely experience, blurring the lines between time spent working and downtime. But on the bright side, it does offer the perks of family time and flexibility. Considering the idea is still in its infancy for most of the country, the experiment we were all thrust into will paint a picture of how realistic the concept might be in the long run. But for now, there's a mixed bag of opinions about working from home...

Kavindu:

Pros - You can work from your home clothes. You can use your own bathroom.

Cons - Numerous interruptions from family members for one ridiculous reason or the other. Having to use your own data (already had to top up numerous times). Working hours being extended beyond your hours than what was required when you were at your workplace.

Narmadha

Safe from Corona but not from the people at home

Shalinda

A lot of people think it's a vacation. Not really successful. Plus the infrastructure and technology we have in hand are pretty low. The Internet has been super slow since the curfew because more people are at home streaming. Sri Lanka I believe has 3 major internet cables running close to the country and we still have not done the necessary development to make use of it full. Plus most service providers have reduced speeds, day and night time quotas, speed limits, data limits etc. which you don't see in developed nations. Finally many don't have laptops or desktops at home.

Darshani

No more crowded buses and annoying traffic jams. I kind of enjoy working from home.

Most importantly The work/life balance improves a lot when you work from home.

Amreeya

Pros:

- Loving that I can wake up an hour late and be 'at work' in 5 mins as opposed to 40mins.

- Able to get more work done faster than when at office

- AOD has made a fabulous switch to working online and doing it right, so it has been a rather smooth run.

Cons:

- Data keeps finishing endlessly and is annoying

- Electricity bill will be high due to nonstop A/C

- Miss seeing other faces apart from those at home

- Sometimes forget you're seated for longer in one place

Fazmina

Being a mother of 2 and with no domestic help, working from home is impossible! I can't even switch on the laptop without any interruption. By the time they sleep, I'm exhausted to the bone to work. Positives from this though are that it is practical social distancing. Which is a win!

Nadia

I think at a time like this, it's essential to prevent interaction, especially being a hotelier. BUT, it's not as productive. There are certain tasks you cannot complete, you also have distractions, etc. I just think it's good on a temporary basis because we have no choice