Practical Working from Home (WFH) in 2020

It's Day 5 of the MCO (Movement Control Order) here in Melaka, from 18 Mar 2020 to 31 Mar 2020 (as of today). This measure is drastic but necessary in order to "break the chain" of highly contagious Covid-19 Coronavirus, by social isolation. We're still allowed to go out to buy food and other essential supplies, but with some guidelines (like only one person in the car, for example). The short and simple rule is - "Stay At Home" (you'd be surprised how many people do NOT comply with this, either through ignorance or defiance). More info can be found over here (FAQ is in Bahasa Malaysia, though) and also in my previous post. For most of us, this means staying at home doing nothing, but (un?)fortunately for me and my team, we need to Work From Home (WFH hereon for short). Thanks to the nature of our job and this day and age of technology.

I'm no stranger to this mode of working, having started nearly a decade ago. However, with the advancements in technology, specifically in telecommunication and also IT, working from home has become more practical and do-able. Provided the necessary infrastructure is in place (more on this later).

Working from Home (WFH hereon for short) is also known as telecommuting, is we perform our daily job functions from an external location instead of the usual location. This is not the same as working in the field, where one still has to be on-site, wherever that may be. WFH is not a standard working mode - it varies across job functions, companies, industries and even regions.

Not every job or function is suitable for WFH. For instance:
- Service industry: Waiter, Hairdresser, etc.
- Manufacturing: Production Operators, Technicians (At least until IR4.0 is here)
- Field-work: Home Delivery and Repair Services
- Highly confidential: Finance, R&D (Bring your top secret stuff home and leave it lying around? I don't think so....)

In principle, there's a tendency for developed countries having higher adoption of WFH due to the nature of work and also the culture. Especially in Asia, where there is a concern from the top that people might abuse the system or only some people might be lucky enough (or cursed, more on this coming) to be able to WFH. Strangely, the same people do not have any concerns when we work our rear-ends off across international time zones and outside office hours....

Why do people take WFH (under normal, non-MCO days)? Sometimes, there is a need to be at home to take care of kids, elderly or sick - not full-time, but at least on standby or to have their presence at home. Sometimes, awaiting an urgent delivery or home repair. Whatever the reason, the expectation is that the employee will not compromise on their usual functionality - so if their immediate surroundings demand too much attention, the employee is better off taking leave rather than WFH. And sometimes, there's the controversial "not that sick, but contagious" zone where it's better to work in isolation, but not flat out go on medical leave. I've had to do so several times in the past during the school holidays.

While some employees may lament that they do not have sufficient entitlement for WFH (limited number of days per month or even none at all), actual WFH requires certain pre-requisites to be effective. Below are some steps I have taken in my own experience in order to function optimally:

1. Location

   I've fortunate enough to have some space to set up a desk in the corner of my bedroom to function as my primary home office. Not a fancy manager / glass desk - actually it's an old Mahjong table which I inherited from my late grandparents.... My family is understanding enough to know that when I am in working mode (the closed door being a subtle hint). Of course, it's not completely soundproof, but still better than being in the office when EVERYONE is in their own telco! Of course, if you live in a studio / apartment with your wife, four kids two cats and pet gold fish, you would probably WANT to go to office to get any real work done....

2. Workstation / Equipment

   Like I said, I have my ancestral Mahjong table, and hijacked a chair from my dining table. Not completely ergonomic, but will do for now. Who would have guessed I'd have to spend 2 weeks of full-time WFH? We've been trying to go paperless for ages now, so most of the work is done through the company-issued laptop and company servers (which, judging from the speed, could be located in another continent). I'm using my own USB headset, a fairly old model (Logitech H390). Unfortunately, I don't have a printer, photocopier, scanner, etc. at home. So in a pinch, I'll use my cellphone camera to "scan" something.

3. Network Infrastructure

   To WFH requires massive amounts of online data transfer, with a high-bandwidth, stable Internet connection. Unfortunately, I don't have a Unifi connection so I use the hotspot from my company-issued phone. With some forward-planning, I copy large files to my company-issue laptop to work "offline" at home, and upload them once I'm back in the office again. Of course, I'm actively practicing good data security and keep all devices, portable drives, etc. secure.

4. Minimize / Eliminate Distractions

   This is the hard one, especially when the whole kampung is at home too. That is why, I really consider the reason for WFH-ing in the first place. If it's not possible to do so effectively, I would rather go to the office or take leave.

5. Personal Health / Well-being

   Actually, while at the office, there's better opportunity for social interaction and taking breaks to detract from the monotony of the situation. Even commuting to and from work, getting up for a stretch, walking to the coffee machine or meeting room is better than sitting at home. When WFH, I can actually sit through the entire day at my Mahjong table-cum-workstation, and this can lead to poor posture (due to the mismatch in height of my chair), lack of physical activity and other problems (unless you have anti-social tendencies and actually enjoy working alone without interacting with your colleagues). Some of my colleagues have also pointed out that WFH is not all a bed of roses like it appears to be.

WFH is still counted as work - the idea is to be fully functioning during this time. I do my part to set a good example for my team (who are in a similar predicament now expecially during this MCO). Hopefully, this Covid-19 pandemic gets under control ASAP. Depending on how the next two weeks go, there may be a possibility to extend - if you ask me, I think it should be extended at least until mid Apr 2020. Great care needs to be exercised when the MCO is lifted, as I can imagine everyone would rush out after 2 weeks of staying at home - it would be disasterous if there were a "backdraft", like glowing embers under a smoking pile of burnt peat....

In conclusion - for those of you who have the option to WFH - don't misuse this to the point where the employer would be forced to revise its policy!