The last year has been a strange one, both in terms of work and our home lives.
If someone had told you this time last year that we’d be walking around wearing face masks, constantly sanitising our hands, and having to stay away from our loved ones, would you have believed it? Of course not, it sounds like something from a horror film.
Unfortunately, we’re living that situation in the hear and now and until a vaccine is identified and put into place, it looks like we’re going to have to cope with some restrictions at the very least.
Our working lives have certainly taken a hit. Many people have found themselves furloughed and some have unfortunately found themselves out of a job completely. The lucky ones may have found themselves simply working from home in the interim period.
What is your situation?
If you’re doing your work from home currently, do you enjoy it? And, would you have chosen to work this way before the madness of the pandemic hit?
Working from home has been a choice for many years but nowadays it’s far more likely to be a reality for those who wouldn’t have thought about it before. Perhaps you have had to work from home but you’re finding that you’re enjoying it. Perhaps you’re finding that you miss the company in your contemporary office. There are many different elements to home office working and it has to be ironed out and tried before you can make a solid judgement.
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However, working from home certainly has its downsides and you have to figure those out and side-step those in order to mark it work. The good news is that it can certainly be done and once you’ve found a groove that suits you, home working could be the new thing you never knew you needed in your life!
It’s true that the COVID-19 pandemic is a stressful thing and not being around our colleagues can be even more difficult than before. Collaborating is a challenge but it’s about thinking outside of the box and using Zoom and other video calling software to be able to still brainstorm away with your colleagues.
The camaraderie you probably enjoyed around the modern boardroom tables doesn’t have to disappear just because you’re all in separate locations - the Internet has made us closer even when we’re apart. Potential isolation has long been an issue with flexible working such as this but again, it’s about knowing what might come your way and trying to figure out ways to side step it.
If you’re currently working from home, do you think it is something you’d want to continue with after the pandemic is over? Many people feel that way and of course, just as many feel the opposite. One thing is for sure - COVID-19 will leave its mark even after we’ve got it all under control, and that could be that more people choose to work away from the office, having tried it without choice, and enjoyed it.