Work from Home: The New Normal

Camille McMillan Rambharat

What does your work-life balance look like? How well are you managing your time?

In today’s rapidly evolving world, the future of work has arrived. Work-from-home is reshaping life and careers. For women, the traditional 9 to 5 no longer works. For me, it never did. With my entrepreneurial spirit ingrained in my upbringing, the opportunity to carve out my own path was not just a dream, but a prayer answered. Now, a job is something different.

Transitioning to a role that offers autonomy, a robust pension, travel, enticing perks, medical benefits, and the flexibility to work from home has been the work-life-balance needed at this stage of life. This ‘new normal’ has allowed me to prioritise both my physical and mental well-being, fostering a deeper curiosity about life itself after years of the hustle culture.However, the transition to work-from-home isn’t without some new challenges. Suddenly sharing a workspace with my husband was an adjustment we hadn’t fully anticipated. Now we had to respect each other’s privacy, schedules, and space during working hours. Gone were the rushed morning kisses as we darted out the door in opposite directions, only to spend hours stuck in traffic. Weekends couldn’t come fast enough or stay long enough with household chores and young children to look after. Mondays were as welcomed as Fridays.

As we navigate this new landscape of work-life balance, I can’t help but wonder: how are we preparing the next generation for the realities of their ‘normal’ work-life balance. Are our politicians and church leaders, schools, systems, and parents/guardians equipped to support this shift? How can we ensure our children and grandchildren thrive in a world where work-from-home is the norm?

COVID made an unexpected push and pushed the full use of technology to bridge the gap between home and school. Imagine a scenario where a child can seamlessly log in from home or school to attend classes or access the school’s online learning system for assignments, even when circumstances prevent physical attendance. By embracing flexible learning models, we empower future generations to thrive in both their academic pursuits and personal lives. Can school make work-from-home more permanent? Hello work-life balance!

Moreover, it’s crucial to guide our youth towards careers that offer flexibility and work-from-home opportunities. Just as electric vehicles would be the norm, work-from-home will be ingrained in the fabric of work lives. Encouraging them to explore fields that align with their passions while affording the freedom to work from anywhere in the world will be paramount.

Ready or not, the future of work is here, maybe to stay. We must embrace it wholeheartedly. As we long for the day we bid farewell to the days of long commutes and rigid office hours, let us embrace this new era with open arms. May it bring not only increased mental and physical well-being but also precious moments spent with loved ones—a testament to the enduring spirit of adaptability and resilience within all of us.

Photo by Windows on Unsplash