Could WFH culture shock affect employee productivity?

Every employee experiences a culture shock when they shift from one organization to the other.

This is something which I have also come across. I worked with five different organizations in five different industries during the last 15 years. One was different from the other and every time i change i had felt this culture shock.

But the best part is getting adapted to it and during the process of adaption learning occurs and gradually we get accustomed to the new culture.

It is an interesting fact too. Culture of many organizations especially with small businesses are built by the founders and mostly their characteristics become the foundation of that organization's culture.

Every member in that organization comes from various backgrounds and it is for all to follow one common culture we say organization must have its own culture so that every employees will follow same methods. This is formed by framing policies and procedures, defining processes and introducing unique practices and codes.

Well, now that i am working in an organization which has a defined and unique culture, a system that is followed by every one. Quite interesting but for the last few months i am on work from home mode, that too at a place which is new to me.

My job responsibilities are well defined, work is well planned, am continuously monitored and every piece of work is assessed but here the shock I experience is work from home culture shock, I was never used to such type of work during 15 years of my career life. Due to covid19, I had to choose WFH, which is in a way convenient and I got the facilities too.

The shock here is not the home environment but the nature of my job. This is really shocking for me and initially i could feel the difference and difficulties associated with it. The shock here is not the home environment but the nature of my job.

What I felt is that, I get more time to work on something but I had difficulties coping up with new nature or may be new place, new ways of doing things etc. This is in a way WFH culture shock because same work, same organization, same peers and same process but the environment plays a big role in our productivity.

This may be safe, convenient, comfortable and manageable but there exist the culture shock that might affect work quality, efficiency etc. For some people it may be increase in productivity for some it may not. Adapting to new ways of doing things and managing the work from home when you are not used to it especially when the environment is new responsibilities are higher, it is essential and challenging to get adapted to WFH culture. Adaptability to new culture is a skill that needs to be developed by anyone. That is one of the factors for employee attrition and a factor to be considered for employee retention.

#wfh #workfromhomme #culture #cultureshock #productivity #employee