The global experience of working from home during the pandemic has thrown up many home truths. Being associated with a negative experience, does WFH need a dose of positive PR?
by Karina Grift, Account Director at Wise McBaron Communication
My husband and I have been working from home together since March. Of course, this wasn’t planned. We live in Melbourne (oh, you poor things, I hear you sigh) and just as my husband was preparing a staged return to the office, Melbourne went back into lockdown.
Thing is, I was already working from home before the pandemic – and loved it. But after six months of this whole arrangement, with our kids also remote learning, the whole WFH gig needs a serious PR overhaul.
It got me thinking a lot about this whole global experience, especially as there is so much talk about how working from home will become the new norm, what it is that I loved before, but don’t love so much now.
In the beginning of this pandemic, when office workers across the nation were ordered home, I think many were secretly a bit excited about the idea – despite the upheaval. No commute, pjs all day, fridge access. Too easy.
By now, for office workers in Melbourne, the initial novelty factor has well and truly worn off. So much so, sitting on the M1 for an hour each morning is starting to look appealing.
But this year’s fling with working from home is not the model any of us should aspire to.
Before
I used to work in a big office for a big company so the switch to working from home a couple of years ago was a big change. When the opportunity arose to work for Wise McBaron remotely, servicing our Melbourne clients while my colleagues are based in Sydney, I took it because the change would make the family/work juggle that much easier.
I have loved it. Until Now.
I am an extrovert (yes, lockdown is hard for us extroverts), so when I first started working from home I made sure I had a lot of other social outlets. Not so easy in lockdown.
PR can be done from home, most of the time. It involves writing, researching, strategizing and thinking. But it is also a people job. My work-from-home job involved travel (remember those days?), not just to meet clients but to meet colleagues in Sydney and my boss, Trudy Wise, made regular trips to Melbourne, allowing essential face-to-face meetings.
I was once able to make the most of quiet time at home to work while the kids were at school and my husband worked in his office. This has become impossible this year while we hold Zoom meetings in the ‘office’ at the same time while the dog barks and one kid sparks up the blender for a smoothie at ‘recess’ (how loud are those things?!).
Now, the only chance I have to be alone is when I walk the dog. With all social events cancelled and nothing to break up a work-from-home day, work days feel longer. I am moving a lot less, though Dan Andrews will be pleased with that, and visiting the fridge a lot more. It’s a long way from the convenience and privilege I once felt working from home.
Considerations
So, if we are going to rethink any long-term WFH arrangement there are a few things that are essential considerations. Maybe then, working from home can overcome its now tarnished reputation:
- There must be a space at home that is dedicated just to work. A desk in your bedroom, kitchen or lounge will not cut it if you want to avoid contaminating your home space with work.
- Exercise is vital and workplaces must allow time in the day for it. Screen fatigue is real and there are less opportunities for incidental breaks when you work from home.
- Log off and switch off. Don’t be tempted to work later or longer than you would by checking emails on your laptop while watching Netflix. Employers must respect employees work hours, working from home doesn’t mean ‘always on’.
- Find other ways to connect with real people. We have all realised during lockdown just how important catching up with real people is and how much it contributes to a collaborative environment.
- If you like the idea of not commuting to a city office, but also don’t want to work from home, consider a co-working space, even for one day a week. Co-working spaces can offer the convenience of being close to home with an office atmosphere at relatively low rental rates.
- Eat well and take a lunch breaks away from your desk, which is why an office space in or near the kitchen is not a good idea!
- Ensure face-to-face contact with colleagues is scheduled regularly (when restrictions allow).
While many in Melbourne are itching to get back to the office, there is no excuse now for employers not to consider the benefits of working from home – for at least part of the week. Maybe at the end of all this, I will miss my ‘co-workers’ when they are gone.
… Nah.
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