I remember more than two decades ago, while an executive of the multinational Shell, of co-employees talking about work-at-home. This was a time when the company was pushing for a more integrated web-based work system not only for simple e-mails, but also in the field of sales, accounts, and even operations.
Today, working at home (teleworking or telecommuting) has become a more established human resource management aspect of locally operating companies, albeit still in its infancy stages and made available only to a select profile of employees.
There is another new aspect of work-at-home known as long-distance work that is in essence freelance work much widely publicized in websites, and are contracted mostly by countries whose mother tongue is English.
Because Filipinos are valued for their communication skills in this language, there is a growing number of this type of worker, mostly professionals, that is adept at jobs that require skills in editing articles, writing researches, teaching English, or designing publications and communication materials.
Pros and cons
Just like any new form of work, there are pros and cons that come with it, much like the behavioral dissertations of social scientists and human resource specialists about migrant work in the ‘60s and ‘70s when overseas jobs were starting to be made available in many countries.
Remember those concerns raised about the ill-effects of migrant work on children left in the care of a single parent only and those studies predicting the decay of family life because of the unnatural separation of couples for long periods of time?
In fact, when work-at-home in company employees started to become an option, there were huge debates on productivity, with management more concerned about not getting their money’s worth on the work hours that employees were supposed to put in.
Somehow, with adjustments made here and there, these paradigms in work habits have gone through a series of “acclimatization” to make them acceptable. Somehow, the Filipino family has managed to survive; somehow, company employees who work at home are able to do their jobs well.
Even the talked-about toxicity in call center environments has been mitigated, with the concerned companies putting up safeguards that would help new employees adjust to the distinctly different work conditions and avoid what has been noted as negative effects.
Of course, we continue to have horror stories that tend to magnify the negatives out of proportion. Because, on the whole, with the help and guidance of all those concerned, migrant workers, call center agents, and even employees who work at home are coping positively.
Unique peculiarities
Going back to the latest HR innovation, long-distance or freelance working is unique in its peculiarity of having an established “office” often in a secluded corner of the home where there is just a single employee physically visible.
Mind you though, this long-distance worker is very much – perhaps even more – productive that those that physically congregate in groups in a workplace. Freelance work via the Internet has become so measurable that goofing around will most likely only mean substantially lower pay.
Negatives from social scientists viewpoint
Home-office workers, another phrase used to describe long-distance freelancers, have not been spared from the eagle eye of social scientists and HR experts. Their latest studies point to what they see as negative associations of the job.
In many surveys done, these home-office workers miss the human interaction that is very much a staple of a regular office environment. No office gossips (which can be useful when looking for a promotion), regular lunch-outs with colleagues (where ideas can be tossed around in a less formal setting), and the general ambience of actually working with many other people.
Long-distance freelance workers, on the other hand, are often in a world of virtual silence punctuated from time to time by messages on their computer screens by their employer’s supervisors. While there is the technology of video-conferencing available, it is not a standard tool for getting the job done.
Recommended remedies
Once again, the negatives of long-distance freelance work were first highlighted, and with it were recommendations that would remedy the perceived downsides.
To compensate for the boredom and even the feeling of being stifled by the silence of the four corners of the home work area, freelancers are encouraged to take breaks where they can interact with others.
This can mean establishing new friendships, for example, in coffee shops or local social halls, or even the church. Even Facebook or any social media chats, even surfing the web, are good enough to break the monotony of online work.
Of course, it goes without saying that freelancers should put a limit to the number of work hours they put in during the day and the week. Outside the hours demanded by the online freelance work, there should be solid social activities to bring about a healthy balance in the work-play environment.
This is also a good opportunity to replenish one’s creativity and spirituality, and more importantly, improve one’s individual capabilities.
Can be rewarding
Notwithstanding the perceived inconveniences and curtailment of liberties, freelance work can be very rewarding for those who are able to manage well their time. Topmost benefit: no fear of getting caught in monster traffic jams or being exposed to floods.
The pay is not bad at all considering that you don’t need to spend for gasoline or transportation fares, plus you save on a lot of time commuting from home to an office and back home. Of course, there’s considerable savings too from not having to eat outside and pay for your own lunches and snacks every work day.
For the Filipino worker whose end goal is to be able to earn much from a job, freelance employers are quite fair in their assessment – and rewards. Like business process outsourcing agents, the first few months will be an adjustment period where the employer tries to gauge the will and readiness of the freelancer, as well as ability.
When there is a mature level of acceptance and trust in each other behavior, the employer is often generous enough to approve additional compensation. After all, good employees are always precious.
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