Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash
I’ve worked from home since 2007. I am used to structuring my day, separating personal and business stuff and shutting my office door when I need to relax. I’ve also agonised about interruptions betraying the fact I am at home, such as the dog barking at the post delivery when I’m on the phone, and seeming unprofessional because I am not in a commercial space.
In 2020, we’ve dealt with so many sudden changes and one of them has been a rapid growth in people working at home. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reports that, in April 2020, 46.6% of people in employment were doing some work at home, and of that cohort a significant 86% said that this was because of coronavirus. Working from home became the norm, almost overnight.
Perhaps the working from home culture has been most noticeable on television. Experts of all kinds are now routinely interviewed while sitting in front of their bookcases. News anchors and journalists have presented programmes and reported from home, often accompanied by their dogs and cats. Politicians have made their points from home, not without the occasional intrusion by a small child.
As a consumer, I have spoken to several individuals from various organisations who explained they were working from home. An adviser from a mobile phone company and a funeral director spring readily to mind. I didn’t feel I was receiving an inferior service because the person I was talking to wasn’t in the office.
If I’ve worked from home for such a long time, surely this cultural shift has made no difference to me? In fact, it has made a difference. First of all, I am spending even more time at home. Whereas before I worked from home, doing some of my work at home and some of it away from home, visiting clients and students, now I am working at home all the time. Like so many, I spend a lot of time on Zoom. I have forgotten how to blow dry the back of my hair.
Secondly, I am much more relaxed about the whole thing. Because it’s normal to work at home, I don’t try to hide the fact any more. There is nothing unprofessional, these days, about having to interrupt a conversation to take a delivery or apologising for a barking dog. I am grateful for my tiny office, my tech and my routine which make working at home easy and efficient.
Many will want to return to work when they can (indeed many already have) but I am happy at home. Now that I’ve let go of the need to seem ‘professional’ by minimising evidence of my domestic setting, I look forward to many more years in my own space.
It’s interesting how it’s changed so fast. My neighbour said she had “fought” for two years to be able to work one day from home and this year her husband was there for seven months! It’s definitely the way forward for many but for lots of people the loneliness will be a challenge and the sitting in one place all day looking at a screen. I read that the screen work can age our skin.. interesting, I’ve noticed that this year!
Yes I agree that loneliness will be a problem. And we need to get out more because we are not travelling to work. I am lucky to live in the country so I do lots of walking and running. Fresh air and movement are vital! Thanks for your comment.