In recent years, the term “work-life balance” has given way to the similar term “work-life integration”, the subtle difference between the two being the recognition by the latter that it is becoming increasingly less practical, necessary and relevant to try to impose strict boundaries between work life and personal life, both on yourself and others. In the wake of Covid-19 and home-isolation, with many organisations in Cyprus having had no other option but to adopt work-from-home arrangements, this realisation will now be resonating with more people. Many more have now had a taste of what it actually means to organize your work around your life – be it a life as limited as the Covid-19 one! Parents in particular, will have experienced multi-tasking and role-switching like never before.
It has to be said that in some instances, ‘enforced’ work-from-home arrangements haven’t really worked out. But in those instances where they have, the experience has been a real eye-opener, both for the employer and the employee. For those who have felt for a while now that Cyprus has lagged behind other countries in this respect, now is the opportunity to have the conversation. We’ve seen an explosion in articles advocating the potential benefits of remote working and while it may not be suitable in all cases, all the hype surrounding it coupled with our increased exposure to it, may nevertheless prove pivotal in our country, where individuals who work from home and/or have flexible working hours have tended to be perceived by some as not being fully invested in their work – albeit by the same people who would argue that having regular business hours in an office automatically signals professionalism.
When all is said and done and things eventually go back to normal, hopefully this experience will have helped to shift mentalities and made employers in Cyprus more open to some degree of remote and flexible working arrangements, for their own sake as well as that of their employees.
*Ioanna Achilleos Zavitsanaki
Business woman and former banker
Member of the 77 board committee of
New Wave – The Other Cyprus
