Working From Home

If you’re like me, the global pandemic has aggressively introduced an entirely new routine to your daily life. Before, I was able to separate my work and home life with physical distance, I could mentally charge up and down on my way to and from work. Now that I work from home, I have had to change the way that I think about “where” I work. And despite being naturally a bit more introverted, it took me a long time to get used to this change. It is now my goal to share what I have learned during this journey and hopefully make the transition a bit easier for others.

I’d like to begin with some pros and cons of working from home. These will not apply to everyone, but even so, it is nice to consider what someone else may be going through who is also making that change. We can all be a bit more understanding and accommodating at this time. There are some obvious pros, like a drastically shorter commute, or being able to wear comfier clothes, but I think the best benefits came a few months into the transition. I found that working in a familiar, comfortable environment made me more courageous, I offered more ideas, asked more questions, sent more emails. I wasn’t afraid to communicate what I was thinking, partially because we were separated through a screen, but also because having that comfortable, familiar, home base made me more confident. I also found that I was able to remain more objective and autonomous when it came to my tasks. I wasn’t swayed from my overall goal as much as I was when working in an in-person setting.

While I have seen an overall benefit to working from home, I did struggle with one or two things. I found that, without a commute home, I took a lot of my work life into my home life. I was more inclined to worry about deadlines or other work-related stressors immediately after the workday. I noticed that this affected the mood of those around me and I struggled to remain cognizant of how I was dealing with that anxiety. Additionally, there were times where I got too comfortable with introducing my workspace to my home space. It is tempting to do work from a living room couch, or even from a bed. But I found that it affected my productivity and my ability to have a distinguished home and work life.

This brings me to my workspace. I have found that having a set location for all work-related things is the only way to go. I try not to move my laptop from my desk unless I am using it as a personal computer, and if I need something while I am working, I use that time as a break to relax and maybe get some more coffee.

I recognize that the main concern for employers is how working from home will affect productivity, and I can safely say that if you were confident in your workforce before the pandemic, you should be just as confident now. Your employees are doing their best, and I have found my productivity to be relatively unchanged. I have the same level of workflow and distractions that I did in an office. The distractions are just less related to the environment or dress code, and more related to what snacks I may have available in my pantry.

Working from home can be a serious transition. It isn’t going to be like a vacation, but it is going to be more comfortable for many. I am glad that this option has been made more available, as it can help people outside of the pandemic. Some people do better working from home, both professionally and personally. And while it may take some time for your coworkers to figure out how to use a video conference platform, I think it is important to recognize all the work people can get done from their homes. It puts the traditional office, business professional attire, water cooler method into perspective. It also proves that the people you know and work with are resilient. That being said, not everyone’s home life can be a comfortable or safe workspace, and that’s okay too. I think that this transition has highlighted how dangerous it is to paint with a large brush, in-office work isn't best for everyone, nor is remote work. So the next time your coworker has their camera off in a Zoom meeting, know that they are doing their best, and try to focus on how this new digital frontier is working for you.