Jobhop Jobhop's blog : Coronavirus And Having To Work From Home

You love your job, you love the people you work with, but now because of the Coronavirus you have to work from home.

It gets worse, your partner has also been told to work from home, your oldest children are also self-isolating because their universities are closed, your elderly mum who lives with you thinks you’ll sit with her all day and chat, and your dog has come into season! On top of that the schools are closed and the rugrats are at home too!

This could be a typical scenario, it could be much worse or it could be better but one thing that we all have in common is the lack of toilet roll!

One thing for certain is that after this pandemic relationship counsellors are going to be busy!

How are you going to cope with this work from home nightmare?

Space

If there is going to be yourself and many others working from home, then everyone will need their own workspace. Make sure to claim the best room fast. The best room is usually near the kitchen or bathroom and has a nice view from the window.

Broadband Speed Drain

Will your Broadband cope, especially if you have household members playing X-Box or watching films on Netflix while you’re trying to hold a web conference.

If you have to hold web conferences then negotiate with the gamers in the household to hold their very important Fifa match at a different time. The same applies if you need to download huge files; if they’re not urgent then download them when Ronaldo and Messi are in bed.

BT have said that they’re not expecting any blackouts or too much slowdown but Telefonica (O2) Vodaphone and Orange have asked people to reduce their internet use. Experts have warned that there could be trouble ahead due to the ageing broadband infrastructure; that's just great! A Broadband meltdown would send everyone over the edge!

Lunch

With everyone panic buying there’s nothing left to eat and with everyone staying at home there will be some hangry people. If you have teenagers in the house then be prepared for doors being slammed as they declare that they’re starving! They won’t care that you secured plenty of toilet rolls for them, they want food. This could be the perfect time to go vegetarian, lots of vegetable curries and chillies, stuffed peppers and mushrooms. Make sure that everyone takes their turn to prepare food, remember it’s a working day; and you're not a chef... unless you are! A good tip is to prepare the night before.

Resources

Luckily there are plenty of resources available to help everyone work together remotely during the Coronavirus outbreak; WhatsApp, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Jira, Google Drive, Trello, Dropbox are all there to help teams work on projects together.

Use Skype, Zoom, Facetime or similar to keep calls human, you'll get that emotional connection when you see the people you are speaking with.

Reclusive Clothes

Try not to fall into the trap of wearing the same clothes every day, forgetting to wash and allowing your hair to matt up. Your workplace may have guidelines in place to say how you should appear online especially when talking to customers. You want your customers to have the security that not much has changed, don’t shatter that illusion by Skyping with them looking like a Neanderthal. The best way to do this is to carry on as if you’re going into work, wake up, have a shower, clean your teeth, get dressed and go to work.

Have A Break

When you’re in the workplace you’ll probably have a couple of breaks during the day and this should still be the case when you’re working fro home. Use the break to take your dog for a walk whilst remembering the social distancing rule of staying two metres away from anyone else. Your break could also be used to do something in the home but don’t fall into the trap of leaving one work station to go onto another work station; putting a shelf up isn’t a break!

Stay focused

This can be a hard one especially when others in the home are not having to work. If your mum tells you to sit down and watch Jeremy Vine with her, tell her no! It may not look like you’re at work but you are. Staying focused can be a challenge with young children running around the home, screaming they’re bored! Peppa Pig will only work for so long and you can't trick them with blackout curtains for too many hours. You don't want to cross that line into neglect!

Working hours may need to change to remain focused and to accommodate the children. Instead of 9-5 pm your "working day" might have to be first thing in the morning, some more while Peppa Pig is on, some more when they have a nap and a bit more in the evening.

It's going to be a challenge.

Remember when the going gets tough just join in the community chats online, there will be others experiencing the same as you.

Good luck!