Towards the New Normal of the COVID-19 Pandemic by Working from Home
Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan at the beginning of 2020, the excitement has gradually begun to spread and has even reached the whole world. This furor was triggered by a large number of victims in a relatively short time accompanied by the uncertainty of all parties facing Covid-19.
Various countries then began to implement the COVID-19 protocol in accordance with the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), starting from washing hands, not gathering/conducting meetings, maintaining distance, limiting leaving the house, and even taking isolation steps starting from self-isolation of individuals, communities, and even entire cities. (starting from Large-Scale Social Restrictions to lockdown).
As a result, many government and private offices have implemented work-from-home schemes. The WFH scheme is part of the concept of telecommuting (working remotely) which is actually not a new thing in the world of work and urban planning and has even been known since the 1970s as an effort to overcome traffic congestion from daily home-office trips. However, this concept is usually applied under normal conditions and not because of the current pandemic. Moreover, it is suspected that the current conditions will last at least until a vaccine is found, which is estimated to be at the end of 2021. Until then, it is even suspected that it can become part of the new normal of our daily lives so the implementation of telecommuting becomes a necessity.
The Beginning of the term Work From Home
The term remote work first appeared in the book The Human Use of Human Beings Cybernetics And Society by Norbert Wiener in 1950 who used the term telework (a term that is popular in Europe today) (Siddharta and Malika, 2016).
Then in 1974, the term 'telecommute' was first used in a University of Southern California report focusing on a peak hour traffic reduction project funded by the National Science Foundation (Nilles et al, 1974).
Throughout the '70s and 80's decades, working remotely in Europe was still underestimated. At that time, 'telework' was often referred to as 'electronic homework', meaning low-level office work from home, either on a full-time or part-time basis. Generally a negative connotation. Remote workers are exemplified as housewives who have children, are separated from the office community, and do monotonous work for the employer. The critical literature uses the term 'electronic homework' instead of 'telework' to emphasize the early conditions of the cottage industry. Based on critical analysis, women have the potential to become remote workers (Jackson and Wielen ed., 1998) The concept of remote work began to receive the attention of many parties at the end of the 20th century, accompanying the emergence of communication technology and personal computers.
The term telecommuting or "telework" was increasingly recognized in the 80s when workers were given the opportunity to complete tasks from home rather than coming directly to the office (Potter, 2003). At that time, the application of telecommuting work (working remotely) was applied one day a week (Siha and Monroe, 2006). In the same decade, pilot remote work programs began at various locations in the United States, and by the 1990s many states, local governments, and companies had implemented remote working systems. Driven by the development of information technology and international business competition, more organizations are implementing remote work (Asgari, 2015). The United States Federal Government only officially opened the option of working remotely in the early 90s. Its application was then tested well in the events of 911 in 2011 when terrorists attacked the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. The General Service Administration (GSA) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) general service policies and guidelines for implementing the Remote Working Program have been launched.
Benefits, Disadvantages, and Impacts
In short, the benefits for workers are
- a balance between work and family life;
- reduced travel time to the office and fuel economy;
- can control the work schedule and working atmosphere;
- can choose to work when the mood is good.
Meanwhile, the benefits for employers are
- encouraging work ethic;
- reduce laziness and absenteeism;
- reduce employee turnover;
- strengthen the company's image as a family-friendly workplace.
The many benefits of working remotely are not without their challenges and problems. For workers, several problems include:
- workers who are accustomed to a conventional office atmosphere find it difficult to coordinate with co-workers. Necessary work schedules may even need to be set a fixed time to gather at the office;
- there is no clear boundary between the office and home, and the working time tends to be unlimited;
- remote workers tend to look unemployed which has an impact on relationships with neighbors and family. Families and neighbors may become angry when remote workers do not participate in household and ward work despite the fact that they are at home.
Meanwhile, for the leadership of the company/organization, some of the obstacles that may arise include
- some leaders having difficulty adjusting, especially leaders who tend to lack confidence in their subordinates;
- in work that requires a high intensity of group collaboration, it is necessary to arrange a meeting schedule which will be troublesome;
- types of work that require face-to-face contact with customers only allow limited flexibility, it is not possible to be away from the office all the time. Meanwhile, when only some workers can work remotely, this will create a sense of injustice among workers.
- some workers cannot work without supervision.
In particular, working remotely is not only an issue of office management but also penetrates the environment, society, transportation, and even the development of a city. It is not surprising that remote work is receiving more and more attention in the areas of transportation, public policy, and the business community, citing its potential as a Traffic Demand Management (TDM) strategy to tackle congestion and improve air quality. In the early 1990s, transportation planners viewed working remotely as a transport demand management (TDM) strategy.
In addition, working remotely is part of complying with the US Clean Air Act. The Clean Air Act Amendments (1990) require states to include reduced travel-to-work programs in their implementation plans. However, a number of questions still hang over the impact of working remotely on travel. The effects are complex, and not always beneficial (Salomon, 1985). However, various studies have concluded that working remotely leads to reduced travel, especially during peak hours, and a marked reduction in emissions (Saxena and Mokhtarian, 1997).
In 1991, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) gave states and local governments greater latitude to meet this obligation through travel demand measures (TDMs), such as remote work, which became eligible for funding through the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Program, as well as through the Surface Transportation Program (STP) (Department of Transportation USA, 1997).
Spatial analysis of the impact of working remotely on travel patterns is important to study its impact on energy, air quality, and land use (Pendyala, Goulias, and Kitamura, 1991). Individual travel patterns are the main determinants of urban spatial structure and land use. Changes in spatial preferences and travel behavior contribute to changes in the urban spatial structure (Horton and Reynolds, 1971).
The indirect impact of working remotely that also attracts attention is the change of residence, for example in the form of moving from residence to a further location with the consideration that there is no need to travel every day to work. Consequently, there is the potential that working remotely promotes the phenomenon of urban sprawl (Lund and Mokhtarian, 1994; Nilles, 1991).
On the positive side, working remotely is a new opportunity for suburban development by attracting new settlers (Grimes, 2000; Simpson et al., 2003).
Interestingly, the implementation of remote work does not require additional plans in the Spatial Plan, designing it only takes a short time and is easy to implement with the help of advanced technology that does not need to be expensive (Mungkasa, 2020).
The success factors for implementing the work from the home scheme are:
Travel time.
The length of travel time that prompted the company to set up satellite offices for its workers
The price of the house.
Housing prices in the city center are very expensive compared to the suburbs, so companies choose to set up satellite offices for workers.
Type of work.
Types of work such as marketing and research are always moving regardless of the size of the company
Size of the company.
For small companies, we set up a satellite office much more expensive so prefer the work-from-home scheme.
Organizational culture.
The culture of working in groups and always face to-face including gathering outside office hours is a barrier to working from home, and as an alternative, working in a satellite office.
Size of the house.
Homes in Japan are relatively small, and it is difficult to provide a dedicated space for work. working at home becomes difficult to implement.
In addition to determining factors, the development of the concept of working from home in several developed countries is supported by several factors, namely:
- full support from the government, especially in the form of regulatory improvements;
- availability of initial studies followed by small-scale trials;
- the establishment of a collaborative forum consisting of relevant stakeholders, both government and non-government, to organize periodic forums for the implementation of the National Action Plan;
- development of a National Action Plan that describes the vision, mission, policies and strategies, roadmap, and action plan;
- determination of the appropriate type of work;
- selection of suitable types of workers;
- setting standards with reference to other countries' success or leading practice (best practice);
- providing incentives or tax cuts to companies that encourage the implementation of remote work in the workplace;
- a full commitment from the company/institution/organization including the provision of hardware at home (Budhiekusuma, Hadi, and Winarno, 2017).
- the commitment of top leadership;
- commonalities of views among leaders;
- formulation of policies that accommodate the expectations, roles, and responsibilities of the parties, as well as the mission of the organization;
- leadership and employee training;
- placement of employees;
- initiatives to respond to change;
- performance management that is achievable, accessible, attainable, and supportive of institutions;
- communication between superiors, employees, and work teams remains as easy as when working in an office;
- documentation of agreements, and accessible guidelines;
- protection of data and information security;
- reduce costs;
- easy registration process;
Working from Home: Before and During the Covid-19 Pandemic
At the beginning of the implementation of the concept of working remotely, many parties had high hopes for its development. However, with the passage of time, the growth is not as fast as expected. Based on experience from implementation in various countries, many factors affect its success.
In Japan, it turns out that many Japanese companies refuse the consideration of a work culture that prioritizes working always face to face. In addition, not all types and fields of work can apply this concept. The concept of working remotely began to get the attention of many parties in the late 20th century, accompanied by the emergence of communication technology and personal computers.
The United States as the initial location of the remote working concept only started a pilot program in various locations in the 1990s that reached many states, local governments, and companies (Asgari, 2015). In the United States, after 1995, there was an increase in telecommuters from 8.5% to 11% in 1997 (Force, 2000). Remote work has received widespread attention in the United States since the early 2000s and is growing rapidly. Based on data from the United States Central Bureau of Statistics, the number of remote workers in the United States has grown steadily from 18.7% (2004) to 23.3% (2014) (Ohio, 2015). A 2001 study by the International Telework Association and Council (ITAC) showed that remote workers in the US account for one in five conventional workers. The United States Bureau of Transportation Statistics in 2006 showed that 30 percent of the US workforce worked from home at least once a week (Mello, 2007). However, the number of workers working remotely regularly and more than once a week is still much lower. According to Global Workplace Analytics and Telework Research Networks, regular remote work increased by 79.7 percent between 2005 and 2012, and at the same pace, it is estimated that regular remote workers will reach 3.9 million in 2016, reflecting a 21 percent increase from 2012 only reaching 3.22 million workers. If you include self-employed, non-traditional field workers (e.g. construction), companies with all workers working remotely, and remote workers only 1 (one) day per week, then the number of remote workers will be about 30 percent of the entire American workforce. United States (Ohio, 2015). The U.S. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (2019) reports that during the 2017-2018 period, around 28.8 percent of workers potentially worked remotely but only 24.8 percent of the total workers became remote workers. The age of the workers is between 35 – 44 years old which is seen to be the most remote workers. The older you get, the more you tend to work from home.
Meanwhile, the higher the level of education, the greater the proportion who become remote workers. About 46.5 percent of workers with a bachelor's level of education become remote workers. Workers who have school-age children tend to choose to work from home.
The most common types of management, business, and finance jobs are working remotely. Interestingly, in the United States, there is no significant difference in the proportion of remote government workers and non-government employees.
Local government employees seem less interested in working from home. Meanwhile, non-government employees who work in non-profit institutions are more interested in working outside the office than employees of private companies. In the 2014-2018 period, the increase in employees working from home was very real, especially when compared to the decrease in the use of private car transportation, shared vehicles (carpooled), walking, and public transportation. It seems that working from home is driving a marked decline in commuting. The last few years have seen unexpected developments. According to a Gallup poll, about 43% of workers in America work outside the office, and about 31% of them, or about 12% of all workers in America work at least 4-5 days a week outside the office.
This condition is supported by the rise of freelancers who reach half of the number of young workers (millennials). Although working remotely and working independently have become popular, in reality, the increase in companies in the United States offering this scheme is only about 4-5 percent in the last decade (Landrum, 2015). In line with that, although it seems profitable as an alternative way of working, in fact, Grobler and De Bruin (2011) note, for example, that only a few companies in South Africa have their employees take advantage of the option of working outside the office. The use of this scheme by employees is not only influenced by their preferences but also by the perception of the leader (Bianchi and Milke 2010; Cooke 2005; Downes and Koekemoer 2011).
In 2015, the number of remote workers in Europe, the term used is telework, varied between countries. The country with the largest proportion of remote workers is Denmark at 36 percent, while the smallest is Italy at 5 percent. Countries with a proportion of remote workers above 10 percent are quite a lot, namely Sweden, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Belgium, and Finland. Meanwhile, countries with a proportion of remote workers below 5 percent are Hungary, Slovakia, Chech, Poland, Portugal, and Greece. It seems that relatively less affluent countries tend to have smaller numbers of remote workers (Eurofound, 2020).
In Japan as one of the developed countries, even remote work only started to become part of the business after 1995, while the Japanese government itself only officially started implementing it in 1998. The latest data is based on a survey by RIETI, only less than 105 Japanese companies are implementing working remotely in 2019 (Morikawa, 2020). However, the concept applied is not working from home (working from home), but working from a satellite office that is not far from the residence. This is mainly due to the barriers to Japanese corporate organizational culture. Employees always interact directly, face to face both in the office and after office hours. In addition, in Japanese culture, the house is the authority of the wife to manage, so the presence of the husband working at home will disturb the comfort of the wife. In addition, the size of Japanese houses is relatively small (Higa and Wijayanayake, 1998).
The adoption of working from home is largely voluntary as needed. However, the existence of the Covid-19 pandemic makes working from home a must. Of course, there is a big difference. Some organizations/companies are already ready to implement and have even implemented work-from-home schemes for some or all of their employees.
Meanwhile, for organizations/companies that are not ready, the implementation of working from home is quite a hassle at first, although as time goes on the employees are able to adjust little by little.
Several large US-based companies have implemented work-from-home since the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak, including Microsoft, Amazon, Twitter, Google, Facebook, Linked In, and Zoom. Meanwhile, some countries that have been significantly affected by COVID-19, such as China, are fully working from home, although many organizations/companies are not ready to implement it. However, the main obstacle turned out to be a cultural shock in the form of distrust of the leaders towards employees.
The procedures applied to make employees uncomfortable due to requests to report work progress at any time along with photos of employees' whereabouts.
In Japan, the government provides subsidies to small and medium-sized enterprises to help with the costs of introducing and implementing a work-from-home system in each company.
Similar to China, the main obstacle is the cultural barrier. For Japanese people, work is 'going to the office' and not 'staying at home. In addition, the habit of Japanese employees working overtime every day will change drastically and there will be more time for family.
Similar conditions occur in South Korea. The main obstacle to working from home is the culture of 'working sick is a virtue'. As a result, only employees who are pregnant, or have children under five and are still in school are allowed to work from home. So the recommendation from the Seoul City government to stop working in the office and switch to working from home within at least two weeks did not get much response (Hess, 2020) It is interesting to know the views of employees who suddenly have to undergo a work from home scheme.
One study conducted by Okta (access management company) in the UK on 6,000 workers across Europe showed some interesting things. First, about 75 percent of employees still want to work from home. Second, only about 17 percent want to work from home completely. The rest want to work from home part-time. The results also showed that respondents reported increased productivity due to more time and fewer distractions. Meanwhile, the concern that without adequate supervision can reduce productivity was not proven.
The message captured from the results of Okta's survey is that employees want flexibility (flexibility) in choosing their time to work from home according to their needs (Leprince-Ringuet, 2020) Another study by research firm Valoir, published in May 2020, showed that around 40 percent of employees who work from home during the pandemic era want to work full time from home.
Another important result is
- Productivity is reduced very small, only about 1 to 3 percent. Having small children at home only reduces productivity by about 2 percent, and it turns out that working alone at home without a family reduces productivity even more by around 3 percent.
- The average daily working time is more than 9 hours, starting from 8 am to 6 pm. It turns out that working from home is relatively the same as office work time and only about 10 percent work outside the normal schedule.
- The main distraction is social media. About a third of respondents reported spending almost two hours a day reading information from social media.
- Employees have full support from the office. About 75 percent of respondents said they received full support from the office and only about 5 percent said otherwise.
- The main concern is the continuity of the work. This was conveyed by a third of the respondents who were worried about the survival of the company and their work (Afshar, 2020).
Government Commitment, Support, and Regulation
In recent years, in the United States, working remotely is seen as a strategic management tool in the event of an emergency or disruption to work performance such as extreme weather or other forms of emergency. Congressional interest in extending the application of remote working to government institutions began in earnest through the Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2001 (Public Law 106-346), which requires every government institution to develop policies that allow employees to work remotely without compromising their performance.
This law requires the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to ensure that remote working has been implemented by at least 25 percent of eligible central government employees within six months of the enactment of this rule, and an additional 25 percent of eligible employees in the following year.
Following this, OPM then conducted an initial survey in 2000 to determine the performance of remote working in federal government offices. Furthermore, since 2002, periodic reports have been published. As a continuation of the law, several more regulations were issued for details, which mandated government institutions to increase employee participation in remote working schemes.
This includes ordering that a program coordinator be assigned to each office and submitting periodic reports to Congress. Congress withholds the allocation of a certain amount of government agency funds until all eligible employees have joined the remote work program.
In addition, each relevant institution has its respective roles and responsibilities in accordance with its stipulation in the prepared provisions. The Federal Government also prepared a Remote Working guide in 2011, which at least provides related direction:
- work schedule, salary, and leave entitlements;
- performance management;
- workplace;
- working remotely abroad;
- accommodation;
- working remotely in an emergency;
- recruitment of employees;
- data security (telework.gov, 2020).
Organizational/Company Policy
During the COVID-19 pandemic, which required working remotely to reduce population movement, in general, the supporting regulations were sufficient. However, there is still a need for company or organization rules that employ remote employees. For this reason, the formulation of organizational/company policies is a necessity.
Based on lessons learned from several companies in the United States, since the implementation of remote work in the Covid-19 pandemic era, the company's policy formulation was based on several basic issues, namely:
Feasibility.
Companies need to determine the appropriate position to work remotely and be clearly defined in the policy. Through an analysis of the type of work model and office operations, the company can establish a scheme for remote work throughout the office which includes the type of work, position, and even the right timing for working remotely (including the possibility of shifting schemes). carried out outside the office. However, as long as it is clearly defined in company policy, this will not be a source of questions in the future. However, in the conditions of the Covid-19 pandemic when the office is closed and employees are directed to work from home, there is a condition that employees cannot do so based on certain conditions/reasons.
As an illustration, the school was also closed making parents unable to work to look after the child. In the United States, under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act ("FFCRA"), as of April 1, 2020 employees who are unable to work or are unable to work remotely for certain reasons related to the COVID-19 pandemic (included in the FFCRA eligibility list) will be compensated and considered leave with a fixed salary paid.
Availability.
If the company allows working remotely, then the company policy needs to clearly state the form of the arrangement including the schedule, arrangement for attendance at the office if not working outside the office, company support, or workers preparing their own equipment at home
Schedule.
Arrangements need to be agreed upon from the outset to avoid jealousy and feelings of being treated unfairly by employees who are still working in the office or are taking shifts in the office. In addition, it is necessary to consider compensation for workers who do not have the opportunity to work outside the office.
Response speed.
The existence of employees who are far from the direct supervision of the leadership sometimes raises a sense of suspicion or concern that employees are not carrying out their duties according to the rules. For this reason, the speed with which employees respond to questions or requests from the office or fellow employees will help eliminate these concerns.
Setting the speed of response in writing, as well as the form of communication tools used are an important part of company policy. The establishment of clear policies can avoid the occurrence of a less harmonious relationship between superiors and employees and fellow employees.
Productivity Measures.
One of the factors that drive the rise of remote working is the results of research showing the increase in productivity of working remotely is better than working conventionally. However, the existence of employees who are far from the direct supervision of the leadership requires the selection of a new method of measuring employee productivity.
There are many choices of measurement methods ranging from the length of time the work is carried out, the number of problems solved, to the number of partners handled. Of course, the measurement method is not as simple as counting the number of hours worked but rather focuses on the output produced. However, monitoring the length of work and submitting work progress reports are still required. Online attendance, including its location, is carried out at the beginning and end, accompanied by daily reports.
Some companies have been equipped with applications that can accommodate attendance, reporting, online discussions, sharing information, and others. Monitoring of work progress can be done online and periodically. This is also a substitute for face-to-face meetings between employees that often occur in the office.
Office equipment.
Working away from the office requires supporting devices ranging from portable computers or desk computers to mobile phones, printers, and others. All of these tools need to be specified in the company policy regarding the person in charge of their supply. The device may be provided by the employee himself. Some companies even require the availability of internet with a certain capacity and speed at home. This is to ensure that communication can run smoothly between employees and the office. Meanwhile, if the company provides supporting equipment, it is better not to burden or reduce employee benefits.
Technical Support.
Along with the availability of supporting equipment, it is necessary to ensure the availability of technical support that can be provided either directly or indirectly by the company. This is one of the main obstacles in implementing remote work. Technical problems with supporting devices need to be ensured that they can be handled properly through office assistance or carried out by employees themselves.
Dismissal of Employees.
In some companies, there are still leaders who are not happy with the remote working scheme. So employees who work remotely need to be given special protection not to be dismissed for reasons of working remotely. Thus, it can be seen that smooth communication is a necessity so that the supervisor's span of control is maintained.
Physical Environment.
Some companies require home environmental conditions that need to be met in order to be allowed to work remotely. Usually, it involves issues of health, safety, and even the comfort of working. Work safety is the main concern of the company because even though work accidents occur at home, it is still the company's responsibility. In the United States, based on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), companies are still responsible for providing compensation and/or treatment for work accidents for employees working remotely (Warren, 2020).
Data Availability, and Safeguards.
Working remotely relies on virtual data that is stored neatly in a data set commonly called BIG Data. The transfer of data, both from home to office and vice versa or from house to house, through such intensive online opens opportunities for outsiders to steal the data. So data security efforts are important and one of the requirements for the work-from-home scheme. Even some companies specifically issued rules prohibiting the use of public-accessible Wi-Fi facilities.
Confidentiality of Partners.
The issue of partner confidentiality goes hand in hand with the issue of data and information security. Maintaining the confidentiality of partners is indeed very difficult to do in remote working conditions. Companies may implement certain types of work that should not be done in remote working schemes (Bayern, 2020)
Impact on City Development
After the outbreak of COVID-19, and the implementation of the work-from-home scheme, the character of the city's traffic generation has changed. First, the number of trips is reduced and peak times can also change because one of the characteristics of working from home is the flexibility of working hours. Second, the number of trips using private vehicles can increase if the COVID-19 protocol is not implemented in a disciplined manner on public transportation. Third, in the long term, urban sprawl may re-emerge because the home-office distance factor becomes less important.
Work-from-Home Culture
There are still many who can't tell the difference between working from home and working at home. Working from home is part of fulfilling obligations as an employee in meeting work targets. So the house is just a location. In contrast to working at home which can mean not related to the obligation to carry out office tasks. Thus, in carrying out work from home, protocols and office atmosphere must still be maintained. So some things still need to be maintained, such as:
- the work schedule is maintained like the usual office schedule;
- work locations should be separated from other domestic activities;
- domestic work and office work are not carried out at the same time, but each schedule can be made;
- the clothes worn should also not be casual clothes such as T-shirts or negligees.
Anticipating the New Model of Remote Working in Indonesia
The travel concept of working remotely or working from home has been more than 50 years. Started as an answer to the problem of traffic jams caused by traveling from home to work and vice versa. Then it becomes one part of cost-efficiency efforts for both the company and employees.
In fact, later it became an answer to emergency conditions when being in the office became constrained. The outbreak of Covid-19 is a clear example. Thus, working remotely can be an answer to urban issues and emergency conditions in the short and long term. However, remote work has not yet become mainstream in modern human life.
The existence of the Covid-19 pandemic, which requires most employees around the world to work from home, can then be a new impetus for the development of work-from-home schemes. this is evident from the results of several studies abroad on employee perceptions of working-from-home schemes during the Covid-19 pandemic era, all of which show an employee's interest in maintaining the work-from-home scheme, both full-time and part-time. For this reason, it seems the work-from-home scheme will become one of the new normals in the world.
