Historically, the idea of working from home came into being when there was a large-scale transition from traditional work to remote work with the adoption of (WFH) policies in the late 1970s.
It was introduced in response to soaring petrol prices triggered by the 1973 OPEC oil embargo making commuting more expensive. Employees were given control over their schedules. They, thereby saved time by commuting less. Working from home in normal time, for employees, is an exercise of freedom. Employees feel empowered.
They tend to become productive given that employees feel in charge of their work life. Work from home has evolved into a normal practice for many organizations. Organizations such as RPG and Tata Group have recently allowed more employees to WFH.

•What’s happening now?
Post pandemic with lockdown imposed by various national governments, organizations are left with no option but to ask employees to stay at home and work.
Whatever said and done, working while staying at home is not truly work from home. Employees are forced to confine themselves to limited space, carved out from sitting or dining area. Besides, the challenge is how to maintain the same level of productivity when one is simultaneously anxious about not getting infected by Covid.
The fear of covid seems to have affected employees more than the infection itself. Many organizations acknowledge that working from home has led employees to binge-work, with fewer breaks, possibly out of impatience leading to many psychosomatic problems. Gurgaon-based Deutsche Telekom Digital Labs has offered an additional day off to help employees cope with the fatigue brought about by working from home.

•Are employees productive during WFH?
Studies by 451, an affiliate of S&P Global has revealed that the pandemic has given a fillip to the idea of remote working as a viable alternative to working from the designated office. The survey also revealed that only 11% of the employees felt more productive working from home.
Employees may have to work from home more often than in an office. Hence, organizations must take the lead to help employees learn how to cope with this on-going pandemic situation & be productive while staying at home.