Working from home – A lean thought

Working from home is a modern trend especially in the industries related to information technology. I was always interested in the concept. Working in the comfort of your home yet completing the tasks required. Lean manufacturing is always about elimination of waste and adding value to the customer. So I thought about evaluate this option of working in lean an angle.

Working from home always reduces the requirement for expensive infrastructure, work space and transportation costs. It will add a good hour or two for each worker since there is no need to travel daily. Flexibility of working and comfort and warmth of home are invaluable for anyone. So it seems working from home is a better idea for both the organization and workers.

On the other hand working from home, if not coordinated properly can lead to duplication and incompatibilities. Both these are wastes in lean. This method of working can kill the synergy of the teams. Again teams are very important ingredient of lean manufacturing. So coordination and management of work becomes very important.

Every industry might not be able to work in this model. But in every organization there are some functionalities which can be operated in this model. I feel if coordinated and managed properly, working from home model of operation can be beneficial for both to the organization and to the worker. As a lean thinker I would love to explore the potential of this model. But are the employers confident and adventures enough to explore the potential of this model? As a worker are you prepared to work from your home? Certainly I am.