A Bloomberg article published on Feb 3 declared that “Coronavirus forces world’s largest work-from-home experiment”. In the article, a business leader stated that “It’s a good opportunity for us to test working from home at scale.” In this age of email, online meetings and global corporations, this might seem a natural next step. Working from home has been associated with many different benefits. For businesses, studies have shown that it can lead to increased productivity. For employees, the flexibility of working from home can allow them to better combine work and other commitments, especially family. It has even been promoted as a means of offsetting a company’s carbon footprint.

As a big supporter of more flexibility in the workplace, though, it surprised me that my immediate reaction to this headline was one of unease. Why did this not excite me as a silver lining of the challenging time that we are currently facing in China and its Hong Kong SAR? Upon reflection, I realized that my feeling of unease came from knowing that this ‘‘experiment’’ is being carried out in conditions that are very different from the conditions under which working from home would usually take place. Therefore, it is important to realize that if the benefits such as increased productivity do not become apparent, it does not mean that this is a failed experiment.

Companies generally take a conservative approach toward working from home, and many are resistant to it. My greatest fear is that this ‘‘forced experiment’’ may well do little more than entrench this concern not only for companies, but also for workers who may well have found the whole experience stressful. However, we have to be absolutely clear about the fact that these are extraordinary measures enacted under extraordinary circumstances. As such, the lessons we learn from it are not all going to be relevant when this particular crisis dies down.

It is also an opportunity to demonstrate the viability of working from home as an employment option, which will not only create a happier workforce, but a more productive one. Equally important, it can be the key to retaining high-performance employees who otherwise might be lost because of family commitments

Firstly, under normal circumstances, the majority of working parents will not be homeschooling their children to the extent that they are having to do now. With all educational institutions from kindergartens up to universities being closed for at least another four weeks, many working parents are under pressure to both deliver what their employers are expecting and support their children to stay on track with their education. “I am going mad”, “infernal here”, and emojis expressing complete panic are just a few of the ways that friends have expressed what they are going through at the moment.

Which brings me to my second point on the imperfection of the current working-from-home experiment. Working from home would not ordinarily be occurring in a situation of mass public panic and heightened anxiety as is currently the case. As the World Bank reported in 2013, “a severe pandemic would resemble a global war in its sudden, profound and widespread impact”. The societal trauma of such an event would be obvious. Indeed, we have seen the panic and hysteria related to accessing masks in recent weeks as just a foretaste of this. We cannot either underestimate the economic shocks that a pandemic would bring. It has been predicted by Professor Warwick McKibbon, professor of economics at the Australian National University, that because of the level of panic, the coronavirus will likely cost the global economy three to four times the amount (US$40 billion) that SARS did.

In the longer term, and with the benefit of some hindsight, we may be able to learn from the experience of how the world of work responds to crises and improve our systems for the future.

But what about here and now?

In the article “Overcoming the fear factor: How perceptions of supervisors openness lead employees to speak up when fearing external threat’’, R. David Lebel argues that ‘‘employees are motivated to speak up when they are fearful of external organizational threats and when they perceive high levels of supervisor openness.”

In this time where people are experiencing so much stress and pressure, our best bet to keep things going is to keep talking. To keep communication going between managers and workers. To be receptive and to show mutual respect, support and understanding. Just to treat each other as fellow humans struggling under an exceptionally difficult set of circumstances. It is also an opportunity to demonstrate the viability of working from home as an employment option, which will not only create a happier workforce, but a more productive one. Equally important, it can be the key to retaining high-performance employees who otherwise might be lost because of family commitments.

The author is an executive coach and founder of The Career Lounge. She specializes in supporting professionals to better integrate work and life.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.