- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - Aujourd'hui 04:49

Saving time; saving Trinidad and Tobago

DEBBIE JACOB WE ALL have ideas about how to improve this demoralised country with its cash-strapped economy and poor productivity. The answer to many of our challenges is simpler than most people think. We can save this country a fortune, boost trust, productivity, and create a happier, healthier workforce by implementing a world-tested employment plan perfected during the 2020 covid19 pandemic. All we need to do is implement a hybrid work-from-home plan. After four years of worldwide research, experts agree that remote work has numerous benefits, many of which were evident during the pandemic. We shouldn’t forget the lessons we learned back then. “As millions shifted to teleworking amid the pandemic, what began as a forced experiment slowly revealed life-changing benefits far beyond what anyone expected,” Edna Perez wrote in a June 13 article for Carnegie Mellon University (a US-based private research university). Remarkably, the economic, health, and psychological benefits of working-from-home plans we implemented during the pandemic, plans adopted worldwide, were evident during an unimaginably stressful, sad, and anxiety-ridden period in our lives. People who benefited from this pandemic work plan reported feeling happier, and companies reported increased productivity. Happiness in the workplace may seem like an alien concept to many businesses and the government of this country, but contented workers are generally more loyal and productive. Studies show these people perform better at work, care more about their companies and become more productive to keep this important perk. Studies show that people who participate in remote work sleep better, feel better, and get sick less often – a benefit that partly comes from having less contact with groups of people and stressful situations. Contented workers feel more in control of their lives. They sleep about half an hour longer at night. Cutting commuting time has many benefits. Let’s be conservative and say the average Trinidadian spends three hours a day commuting. That’s an average of 60 hours a month spent sitting in traffic, clogging our roads, or the equivalent of seven and a half working days wasted every month. Then we should take into consideration people showing up for work tired, frustrated and anxiety-ridden from traffic. Those aren’t conditions conducive to happiness or productivity. If we decrease the traffic on our roads through remote work for half of the week, think how much money we could save on building new roads. We don’t need more roads. We need less traffic. Working from home means parents could spend more quality time with their children. If couples can stagger their work-from-home days so that one parent is always home with children, they could cut the exorbitant cost of childcare, and they’d save gas money. The environment would be better off too. Then, think of the time allocated for lunch and other breaks at work. That adds up to an hour a day, or the equivalent of two and a half workdays a month. More time at home, studies show, means more home cooking and better nutrition. Employers and the government can shape this hybrid work plan in ways to benefit the country – including education. They could offer tax incentives for parents to volunteer with book clubs or after-school activities two hours a week in our schools or do other community service that would benefit the less fortunate in this country. It’s really not a scary or risky proposal to implement a hybrid work plan when you consider the benefits of such a schedule. Even allocating one day a week to working at home would have benefits. Sick leave and personal days would most likely decrease. Many people complain about productivity and job satisfaction in this country, but I found customer service was better during the pandemic when government workers and businesses had people working from home. A hybrid work plan would change the relationship between management and workers. Employers would be compelled to communicate more effectively, trust their employees more and develop better leadership skills. Trust is a crucial component for employees to feel connected, committed and productive in a workplace. Perez writes, “Fostering trust, open communication, and flexibility creates the kind of supportive atmosphere that lets workers thrive, no matter where they log in from.” For too long we’ve made people feel that leadership means rigid control and always having workers in sight. That doesn’t foster trust or independent thinking. The pandemic showed that we need to consider how work fits into life as “something adaptable, inclusive, and focused on well-being,” says Perez. Hybrid work schedules and four-day workweeks are becoming increasingly popular around the world, because they bring so many successful results. What’s the harm in trying? The post Saving time; saving Trinidad and Tobago appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.