Working From Home

The “work from home” concept exists all over the world. According to Go Remotely, 8 million Americans worked from home in 2017. And the number of jobs and corporations implementing the flexible work arrangements is increasingly on the rise worldwide.

However, the concept hasn’t quite reached Egypt yet. Yes, maybe if you look around you might find a few writing and graphic designing jobs or a couple other fields that could let you work from home. But the concept itself isn’t fully implemented.

That being said, let’s ask ourselves a question; is it even doable in Egypt?

Well, like everything else, working from home definitely has its pros and cons. But let’s begin with the pros.

For starters, working from home will help decrease the endless traffic we face on a daily basis in Egypt, because the main reason why every single day of the week is really crowded goes back to the 9-5 jobs. Let’s also not forget the amount of torturous hours most Egyptians spend in commuting to and from work; really messes with our energy! In that case, working from home helps you save both time and energy.

Another pro is boosting employees’ mental and physical well-being. Unhealthy work environments negatively affect one’s self esteem, confidence, and mental health and subsequently impact their productivity levels.

But what if the work environment isn’t really unhealthy? What if it’s actually helpful and even fun? Well, that would be great for everyone. However, that wouldn’t reduce the negative effects on one’s physical well-being. Because let’s face it, sitting at desk with your eyes glued to the computer screen and sipping a million coffees isn’t really ideal. Is it? For your back muscles, eyes…etc. You name it!

On the contrary, working from home can help you avoid all those problems because you can easily find a comfortable spot where you can get your work done without straining your back muscles. The couch, for example? You’ll also be saving money and cutting down on unhealthy takeouts that you order with colleagues at the office on a daily basis.

All of these pros are incredibly nice, right? Well, now we have to take a look at the cons and pretty much the main reasons why implementing the “work from home” concept in Egypt is kind of hard at the moment.

With the flexible work arrangements, some people would think that it means working at their own convenience, hence, slacking. Which is, unfortunately, a big misunderstanding.

Because simply, working from home is also a big commitment. Not a green card to wake up at 1:00 PM for example, do one task and call it a day!

On top of that, being in the safety of your own home unfortunately doesn’t rid you of the endless distractions from family interactions and the slightest interruptions such as a front doorbell or a phone ringing…etc

Not to mention the possible expectations of you being available beyond working hours or during holidays just because you work from home. And that’s where your employer could make working from home hard for you.

On another note, working from home is also not freelancing nor is it you suddenly turning into a part-timer. It’s still the 9-5 job you have, only at home, where you’re most comfortable and productive for the reasons stated above.

Here in Egypt, the corporate world is lacking many crucial work ethics. Some employees slack even when they’re working from their own offices where tasks are supposed to get done. How can the employer trust they’ll do their actual work at home with no silly excuses?

We do know that working from home is not quite doable for people who work in certain fields like engineering, for example.
But we really hope that someday, the “work from home” concept could be fully implemented – if applicable – in Egyptian corporations and different work fields. Because it really is better for everyone; but only if they’re disciplined, follow the rules and understand the boundaries.
Tell us, how do you feel about these guys? Do you think it’s a good idea or not, and why?