When we all suddenly started working from home in March, our office staff, like others, had to do a fair bit of adjusting. Now the dust has settled, we chatted to office support workers and PAs in London about their current thoughts on working from home.
“I get so much more done!”
“I get so much more done!” Jess enthused. “I’m not interrupted as much and for me, there are fewer distractions. I can fully concentrate and get my work done in less time. My employer feels the same, so we’ll keep working from home more in the future too.”
Feeling like a school child
“My boss hates working from home and clearly doesn’t trust us, so I absolutely hate it too,” says Eleanor. “My colleagues and I have to log into Zoom each morning and literally have our webcam watching us all day. If we go away from our computer, we have to give an explanation. I feel more monitored than I ever did in the office and have lost all respect for my manager. It’s demoralising and has made the experience stressful. I want to get back into the office, but it’s also made me look for other jobs.”
The good and the bad
“In some ways it’s great,” Lucas told us. “I love the shorter days and no commute. But it’s a bit harder than being in the office in some ways. It’s harder to bounce ideas around and work together on things. Long term, we’re going to keep a combination of home and office working.”
Finding boundaries
“I don’t think working from home suits me as I can’t define where work ends and home starts,” Alice explains. “To begin with, I thought it was just the adjustment period. But I like being able to log-off at work and know my working day has ended. I can then put it out of my mind and concentrate on my private life. Maybe it’s particularly hard as I’ve had the children home too, but I feel constantly torn between work and home. However, my employer loves it and is planning on closing the physical office to save money. So I need to adjust or look for a new job.”
More productive
Rich believes he’s become more productive. “I get so much more done working at home now the systems are set up and working properly,” he says. “I have a long commute normally, but with working at home I can do a longer day and get more done. My employer has really noticed it and asked me to continue working from home indefinitely, as long as my performance continues. That’s great for me.”
Working from home: The new normal?
We recently explored whether Covid-19 has made the homeworking revolution a reality. We’re certainly seeing more employers embrace it as a positive alternative in the current situation, and it’s interesting that many are hoping to continue this way in the future. We’ve also identified that it really does depend on the success of the relationship between employee and their manager, as Eleanor explained to us.
Find out more about homeworking possibilities by getting in touch on 0207 7870 7177.
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