Page 32 - PR3_Case study_Final version _English

Testimonial N°2/bad practice

Thematic LOSS OF CONCENTRATION / FLEXIBLE WORK SCHEDULES
Name of the worker Peter
(it can be anonymous)

Country The Netherlands

Occupation Solar Energy Consultancy

0. Problematic “During my work as solar energy consultant I was forced to start
situation in my job/my working from home due to the covid-19 pandemic, in contrast to
organisation regarding meeting people face-to-face at their homes before then. In the
flexible work beginning the freedom to work flexible hours from home came
with a lot of comfortable benefits because it alleviated a lot of
time spent traveling to clients. However, as the weeks passed I
started to become demotivated because of the reduced
interpersonal experiences. Switching from face-to-face
conversations to just calling people on their phones became dull
very quickly.

The loss in enjoyment caused by this switch resulted in a
significant loss of motivation as well. Over time, it became more
appealing to distract myself with more stimulating tasks rather
than just staring at Excel sheets while listening to a calling-tone.
Because of this, my productivity noticeably went down over time.
The conscious self-acknowledgement of this loss of productivity
also caused a negative association with work and an unfulfilling
relationship with flexible working hours.

Flexible hours in itself is not something I am opposed to. However,
flexible hours in addition to social isolation and a loss of
motivation made it very difficult for me to stay concentrated on
my work and not resort to other means to alleviate the dullness
and boredom of the work I was supposed to be doing.”

B. How do you think “The most important issue that I believe should have been
the situation could improved is the interpersonal contact that was lost by switching to
be improved? 100% remote working. In addition to not being able to meet any
clients in person I also lost personal contact with all my colleagues.
I think that if there were regular social online events between
colleagues or just some daily coffee/lunch breaks where we could
have some formal and informal conversations, I would stay a lot
more motivated and concentrated during my work.

I would have even liked it more if it was possible to talk to my
colleagues between calls, which unfortunately was no option.”

References on the topic https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/four-principles-to-
ensure-hybrid-work-is-productive-work/