Page 11 - E- Connect 2021

to survive and in the process, they realised that in
work from home, the sincerity of the work was no
way compromised and it also helped in saving a lot of
money as building rent, electricity and other amenity
Thus, came into being the era of Dalgona coffee, charges need not be paid. It laid to some tech-based
home-made cakes, chocolates & yeah, also of the companies like Infosys & TCS even declaring at looking
Ramayana & Mahabharat. The heroes of bygone era at WFH option for a much long-term perspective.
again became household names with the twist of
internet viral & memes and these were peppered with It has resulted in a situation where we are struggling
beating of thalis, lighting of lamps and so on. to maintain the work life balance with some even
questioning the meaning of life and the purpose of
We thought we all had a mass holiday of 21 days and work.
life will be “back to normal” after that, but alas, it proved
only a mirage as situation went from bad to worse.
The New Normal pushed us to the proverbial edge,
students were logged on to educational platforms,
employees were in Work from Home (WFH) mode and
the poor man on the street was left high & dry. He was
punished for being on the street with canes and he was
punished for not being on the street with starvation,
and with savings running out, he grew desperate.

For the younger as well as older generation, entitled
yet trapped at home, it was a different struggle. A
study conducted by University of Exeter showed that
the lockdown prevented people from socialising and
also caused loneliness, especially those who were
caught in the containment zone, Furthermore, the
study started that people who were alone, deprived
of physical activities went into depression. There were
reports of at least two depression symptoms observed The troubles did not end there. Due to the fear of Covid,
over a period of time. We were told about adjustments, the first casualty were our domestic helps who were so
physical & mental, but how do we change something intrinsic to our ability to manage home & work, no more
that has been hardwired to us since the evolution? That day-care facilities either, families were forced to look
is “Socialising”. Man is a social animal, has always after kids while they worked. They were also forced into
been, and yes, technology enabled us to stay in touch, chores which were left for maids.
even rejuvenate our relations with those whom we had
lost touch for years, but are we really getting the same Now, in my fraternity, I experience working moms are
old vibe? posed with a troubling question of whether to focus
on their career or look after the family? It has become
From the work front, the WFH phenomenon meant increasingly difficult to do both, especially in nuclear
opportunity to survive, at the same time it also meant families. The tear between job, family, health concerns
the blurring of “office hours vs home time”. We watched
with a bout of glee how people attending online
meetings ended up in embarrassing situations with
spouses, parents, kids walking into the rooms, but
the reality is work invaded home! We captured rooms
in the house that are meant for family and also bore
the brunt of grumbles about being online all the time,
forcing kids to watch more television/having more time
spent on cell phones as we were busy with our work
and they were not allowed to go outside.

For the companies, they have had to evolve in order

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2021-2021