Prior to the COVID19 pandemic crises, Nigerian employers generally rarely ever:
1. Let employees work from home/remotely;
2. Conduct candidate interviews, board meetings, or any type of meeting virtually; or
3. Host or participate in a webinar.
I was first introduced into the concept of working from home by my employer in 2011. At that time, Atlanta was (and probably still is) experiencing a lot of traffic congestion, backups, etc and there were all these studies sponsored by tech companies on how it would make your employees happier, more productive and reduce gas emissions thus creating a cleaner environment and of course, ease traffic. We fed this to our Senior Management and they immediately approved it. In a team of 6 we each picked a day of the week in which to work from home. Choice days as Monday or Friday were based on seniority. I got Tuesday. We eventually progressed to 2 days and I progressed into seniority so I got to pick Thursday and Friday. I have also interviewed virtually for several positions since 2010. Phone screens would be conducted, sometimes involving more than one interviewer, and if I performed well, I would advance to an in-person interview, possibly involving travel to another city.
In December, I was invited to an interview for a position in Abuja. The company would not pay the cost of travel (and probably the cost of relocation) so I had to factor it into my budget. Not wanting to be price gouged by airline Christmas travel prices, I asked that since this was the 1st interview if I could possibly interview via Skype, and then if I advanced and got shortlisted to the in-person then I would fly down to Abuja. This was quickly shutdown as not an option. It's never an option with these folks. They acted as if they had no idea what I was talking about. How dare she bring this up, does she think she's special? I was also getting over the flu at that time which I made it known to them, meaning my travel might have involved infecting everyone along the way, even the interviewers with the flu. But did they care? It's all about in-person in Nigeria, let us see your face. Swayed by their unwillingness to be flexible, I didn't attend and I missed out on an interview (and a probable job) that could be done virtually in 2019.
Cut to 2020 and the #COVID19 crises has ensured that we put an end to the `we need to see your face' mentality, instead instituting the much needed "social distancing" and holding of meetings/webinars via Zoom/Skype. I remember the last set of queries I got from that employer who will not be named and it had to do with arriving late to the office. It was to the effect of, "work starts at 8am and not anytime thereafter". And my silly preteen manager supported that mindset, that 'arrive on time, we need to see you at your desk otherwise you're not working' mindset. A much younger boss you would have assumed would be more attuned to the value of technology and flex hours much more than us older (assumed outdated) ones. But that was the work culture we all suffered pre-COVID19, and here this little ole virus has come to instill some sanity into interactions by introducing technology where it was needed, creating a little space, making a little sense. In the midst of this turmoil, technology has found a way to resonate with employers forcing them to fully embrace the virtual world, encourage remote work otherwise they risk total unproductivity (some work is better than no work) and offer us employees the opportunity to not be a slave to punching in at 8am.
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