Pandemic taught empathy to CashFlo CEO | Economic Times

Work from home for Ankur Bhageria, Founder and CEO, CashFlo hasn't been particularly new. During the first entire year of his startup journey, he was working from home with no concept of office colleagues or teams. That experience in many ways, prepared him mentally for the current pandemic.In terms of productivity, it's been better on the margin, given the significant travel time savings. "So, while productive hours have gone up, at the same time it's also allowed a lot more flexibility to shape my day and the week - which is really one of the most crucial things a person needs when they talk about work-life balance. It's the inflexibility and not just the hours of work that contribute to the bulk of the frustrations for working population. In terms of apps for productivity - Slack has been an absolute savior for team collaboration and made us realise that a lot of work can get done asynchronously without needing team meetings for every update. I do have a dedicated office space at home, but I also don't like sitting at one place for hours on end, so I end up moving around a fair bit, especially when on calls. Finally, when it comes to dressing up during work hours, it really depends on my day and the external meetings lined up," he says.ChallengeThe biggest challenge for Bhageria has been to manage the state of mind, not just personally but remote working has also meant it's that much harder to manage the state of mind of the entire team, and these times call for extreme levels of empathy. "At a personal level, eating right and staying fit transforms the energy levels and you feel like a different person. I realised this when I went the first few months of the lockdown without any major fitness regimen, but once I got back to it, I felt a dramatic spike in energy levels. At a team level, our employees come first for us and we wanted to ensure they have all the necessary support and infrastructure while working from home. As part of this, we helped set up their home office despite tight budgets, providing them with personalised counselling support, frequent all-hands meetings, setting up a daily breakout slot - what we call 'chai pe charcha'. These are basically no-agenda zoom sessions for people to join whenever they feel like and have chai conversations. Separately, we also instituted fortnightly 'happy hours' where the entire team would unwind and catch-up over a drink or two on the weekend - an opportunity for people to connect and bond with one another," Bhageria says.RoutineBhageria is usually up by 6:30 am, and his early mornings start with some fitness regimen which is usually three to four times a week, followed by spending quality time with his kid and catching up on news. "I start my workday around 8:30 am most days. Work-hours are usually pretty hectic but I try to take micro-breaks in between to say hi to my family before jumping on to the next call. My work-day usually ends by 8- 8:30 pm. Meals are always with family, tuning off from work, and maybe catch up on the odd show on Netflix after dinner. Before retiring for the day, I usually end up reading or listening to a podcast for a bit," he says.Bhageria usually works out three to four times a week and plays badminton on Sundays when he can. "I get bored with regular workouts and hence, I prefer changing things around every once in a while, so something like kick-boxing works for me, and if I'm not doing that then it's a mix of weight training and yoga," he says.HobbiesBhageria had a baby during the lockdown last year, who has been practically taking up all of his free time over the last year. "I've taken to cooking, I've spent a lot more time in the kitchen than I used to, not because I had to, but it's an activity I can do together with my wife. Also thanks to her, I've started getting into gardening. I've been geeking out on the different types of indoor plants, maintaining them, growing them, and our house is well on its way to becoming a small nursery," the 35-year-old ends.