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Having a meeting that’s uninterrupted by home life is so 2019. In 2020, it’s all about the integrating home and work. While many of us are now dealing with the merging of our home life during office hours, it can get taxing, but this disruption should not be seen as a bad thing according to Anupam Pahuja, Managing Director, PayPal India. Instead, it can help give a more human side to interacting in the business world.

Pahuja who says that the boundaries between work and home time have blurred especially since he works across time zones. “In the current scenario, we have all also become a lot more tolerant and understanding of issues that people face from working from home. So, if a toddler of my co-worker starts crying in the middle of a presentation, no one frowns - it almost comes as a welcome respite,” he shares with ET Panache. And he makes sure his work schedule is flexible at home. “Since we are working from home for such a long time, it is not fair to be overly restrictive on the movement of the family members. My children have grown up, so noise really isn’t that much of an issue,” he adds.

Team building

While work has been keeping him motivated, Pahuja can’t wait to get back to get back to the daily grind once things improve. “I have recently taken on an expanded role where in addition to my India duties I have taken on the responsibility for South East Asia, Middle East and Africa. You can imagine just how much time I have left to do anything else.” While he looks forward to meeting his colleagues again, in the meantime, it’s all about logging in to stay connected. “We do weekly townhalls and the Culture Committee does one fun activity every week. It’s something that the teams have now started asking for,” says Pahuja. It’s Zoom all the way. “Staying connected and talking to people helps me stay positive,” he adds.

PayPal India MD says pandemic made us more tolerant of WFH issues; keeps his work schedule flexible at home,