Working From Home
The Nigerian Perspective
Anything that sounds too good to be true most likely is too good to be true. Yes, I said it.
Remember 2020 when the whole idea of being able to get our jobs done all from the comfort of our homes became more acceptable? As we pondered the perks of staying at home with our loved ones, we thought about spending more time with our children, spouses and parents, saving money, and we get to skip the traffic part.
There was nothing like it, this was the same home that employees had to ask for formally, days in advance, that we now got to spend the whole day at. It literally was handed to us on a platter of Gold and we grabbed it with both hands.
Three years into it, companies, organizations and brands have adopted this way of life or to coin this phrase better, way of work.
Now let’s dig our claws into the main point, working from home as a Nigerian living in Nigeria.
Nigeria as we all know it requires special skills to survive we’ve got all shades of crazy here and there, we certainly can’t say it’s too far off from us. We’ve seen the craziness our mothers display and the Shakara our fathers do, let’s not even talk about sibling love (because that one go too choke).
There are many who do not like the idea and it can become problematic for their friends and relatives. Parent’s doubted their grown kids even had a job and in their words, all you do is sit down and press the laptop all day. It didn’t matter if you earned so much or so little, it just didn’t sit right with them. Whatever went on in your laptop wasn’t any of their business. If you decide to work from home, I assure you, my friend, that is only the beginning of your problem.
If you know anything about African parents it’s that they don’t leave anything to chance and if they see a problem they are going to do something about it. So the endless errands will start because you can’t be useless under your folks’ roof, so will the pressure to get a job and don’t think you are going to escape the jabs that will be thrown at you at every time they remember you exist which is every minute that goes by.
If you are midlevel in your career or you earn well, you could find a co-working space nearby, this problem officially comes to an end. But if you are at the early stage of your career or you want to save up as much as working from home allows you, then I officially welcome you to “ “Doomdom” (the kingdom of doom) because you are going to be there as long as you are in their house. It’s a given, purr!
Well, not everyone ends up with this fate; some are better than others. hehe.
For starters not everyone lives with their parents, some pay their own rent and other arising bills like good Nigerian citizens but if you for once think that’s not a recipe for disaster then I strongly advise you to think again.
Those young boys and girls that are home all day, press their laptops all day, make stylish hairstyles or better still rock their natural God-given hair as dreads are called what again? “Yahoo Yahoo” *A term used for online fraudsters in Nigeria. If not how are you able to afford your lifestyle? God help you if you are a lady because your new role will now be ‘Yahoo girl’ with a sprinkle of ‘Ashawo’ (prostitute).
If any of those two points I mentioned aren’t your problem, let me now assure you that Nigeria has more up its sleeves and you aren’t going to get disappointed.
Yes, the unsteady power supply isn’t going to disappoint you. You will be in that meeting killing your first big presentation and our famous “NEPA” sorry “PHCH” will show up with their big guns and get you in panic mode.
Well if you are a true Nigerian, that’s obviously not a problem because you always have solutions to problems at your fingertips. In this case, it’s a generator in your backyard so you rush down to go put it on. If you are an organised person then you have nothing to worry about, not if Musa, your gate man hasn’t used your fuel for your neighbour who needed emergency fuel last night but if you are like the rest of us, you most likely will meet an empty fuel tank well because you also couldn’t cope with the heat and used up your fuel last night too.
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Trust me those people listening to your presentation will move on but you on the other hand? Well, enjoy your God-given break in peace.
Quick question, wouldn’t you have someone else worry about the whole power supply and simply just go to work? Just saying.
This brings me to my next point which is the lack of community to support you. No early morning chit-chats with your work friends to get you on a high note, no office drama to keep you entertained through the day and no opportunity to burn all the calories from the munching you did the day before which means not only will you be miserable you will end up fat just because you want to work from home.
At this point, I might have to beg your pardon and declare that I do not hate the idea of working from home, in actual fact, I work from home simply because I do not have a choice but also prefer it because I get tensed around people and wouldn’t care for such feelings all day long but I would rather you weigh your options and make the better decision for you.
When weighing your option the most important questions to ask yourself is whether or not you can actually save up and whether or not working from home is really convenient for you. The answer to these questions would help you make a better decision than doing it just because other people find it a better offer. At the end of the day, we are all very different and unique and different situations help us perform better.
Oh, if you were wondering why you might not be able to save up since you now work from home, it’s because your working bills now fall on your shoulders, internet costs, electricity bills, work table and chair and the food you keep munching on every hour. No free lunch anywhere my friend.
According to a Stanford study, working from home increases productivity by up to 13 per cent. Some other observations from the study also revealed that:
- 69% of millennials would give up on certain work benefits for a more flexible working space.
You can count me among this group.
- Companies save $11,000 per year per part-time remote worker, on average.
Certainly, electricity bills are lower or nonexistent. *wink
In this Stanford study, out of 2,500 workers surveyed, 20 per cent never want to work from home, 25 per cent want to do so full-time, and 55 per cent want a mix of working from home and in an office.
This points to the fact I earlier mentioned, that we all are different and different working conditions work for each person differently.
We can also tell that the work-from-home conditions also favours the companies as they can use it to their advantage to lower their daily operation cost while also improving the productivity of their employees. A good way to do that would be to offer hybrid working conditions or possibly partner with co-working spaces to create a flexible working plan or even offer vouchers for working spaces or stipends to cover the costs of working from home.
That aside, if you are considering working from home or about to take a remote job offer I hope this piece points you in the right direction on what perks to ask for, mind you ‘perks’ in this case doesn’t refer to ‘work from home’ in itself but access to working spaces, stipends to cover your work from home costs etc. You should also make the best use of this millennium work life and switch from ‘work from home’ to ‘work from anywhere’. Make the most of your remote life by exploring cafes and spaces around you, getting your hair done while you work, and going out to have fun after work ends, with the extra hours you saved from traffic. Going to a nearby Cafe, make sure you are wearing a good outfit so your neighbours know you’re off to work but don’t let them catch you because then you will be a confirmed jobless person.
We have come to the end of this read but I’d love for you to share your work-from-home challenges living in Nigeria and how you’ve survived it so far.
That being said, I bid you not a farewell, but a see you later.
Until next time, bye!
