Work From Home Perspective from an Office Employee
I work about 40-50 hours a week. Most days, I work through my lunch, leave work later than five o'clock, and respond to emails via cellphone over the weekend. I provide a good amount of flexibility in my life for corporate America.
Today, I woke up feeling under the weather and since the CoronaVirus is a large concern, my manager allowed me to work from home. After doing so, I sit here wondering: Does my job allow the same amount of flexibility in their earning statements and metrics for my life? Do the extra hours I put in equal the hours the company is willing to put into being flexible with my life?
Let me describe my work from home today and, after, you can make your own opinions on work from home policies.
7 am - I woke up. Put the kettle on for french pressed coffee. Opened my laptop to check my calendar and got mentally ready for the day.
7:45 am - I was ready for work. Dressed, presentable for the camera, and with coffee in hand.
8 am - Started responding to emails, had breakfast ready to go and laundry to be put into the washer.
9 am - After I had responded to majority of emails, sent follow-ups, and was prepped for the mid-morning, I could throw my laundry into the washer, take care of the pet, and grab another cup of coffee.
9:15 am - Started prepping for my calls for the afternoon. A few minutes later, I get a call from the Doctor's office and I am able to schedule an appointment over the phone.
11 am - Finished prepping for the afternoon. I began to send follow-up inquiry links for clients, but was interupted to my cat having a hairball. Grateful to have been home to quickly clean it up before it stained the couch.
12:30 pm - Responded to emails, pings, and proactively knew what my afternoon looked like. Then, I took my pre-workout, which is a large container in the kitchen cabinet and I headed to the gym for a quick 30-minute workout.
1:10 pm - Returned home, showered, and opened my fridge to all of the healthy groceries I had packed away. Instead of going to the typical fast food joint, or pricey lunch hotspot at work, I was able to drink my protein shake and have good food to fuel my afternoon. Threw laundry in dryer and started the dishwasher.
1:30 pm - Responded to emails. Started prep work for some of my accounts.
4:30 pm - Sent my follow-ups, proactively checked my calendar for tomorrow, and jotted down all of the action items I needed to complete.
5 pm - Started this post. Began to fold my laundry, unload the dishwasher, and start a new load of laundry for the blankets, which were a target for my cat's hairball.
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Every single one of my action items were completed today. I am not just talking about work. I am referring to all of the underlined sections you noticed above. When I have to commute into work five days a week, that accumulates to 40 minutes per day, which is about 200 minutes per week or 3.33 hours spent just in driving. When I walk into work, I do not just think about the action items waiting for me at my desk, I also have to think about all of the priorities outside of work.
My work from home day was a success, I was able to cross off those boxes for work and my personal life. This segways nicely to rethinking the phrase: "We work to live, not live to work." What if our work life is actually part of our personal life? Maybe, it's not work versus life, but rather work is a subcategory within our lives.
This last couple of months has been chaotic with the coverage on the CoronaVirus. Many companies are putting their employees on mandatory remote status. Will this have corporate America rethink the way they use work from home policies? Will the hours of flexibility we put in as employees be reflected in the number of hours our companies allow us to check off our at-home action items?
Now, at five o'clock, I have all of my action items done for my work and for my personal life. This leaves me with extra time to focus on my mental health, clarity, and reflection. Personally, I believe this is the future of the office. A future where life does not have to be work versus life, but one in the same. Let's start having more of these conversations, outside of a virus pandemic.
What are your thoughts on work from home?
Healthcare | Sales | Diabetes
5 年I agree with you! Work and life should be integrated to a degree! Whenever I have the chance to work from home, (which is very rare), I get more things done in my personal and professional life! However, my company does not allow remote work except on rare occasions.?
Customer Centric | Baseball Player | Car (AMG) & Footwear Enthusiast
5 年I like your post Jess. I've always been an advocate of work from home. I was able to in one of my previous jobs and as you mentioned you're able to tackle work as well as your daily task. It makes a person much more productive, relaxed and pleasant...At least that's how I felt.?
Seeking new approaches to existing problems
5 年Great post, Jess! I think many companies are capturing the essence of what you've experienced and shared here, and are beginning to understand that WFH shouldn't be considered a privilege but an expectation this day in age. With all the tech advancements we've seen in the last decade, the experience isn't far different at home than it is in the office. And we should be able to create a similar collaborative environment virtually-- we've just got to make the effort.? Leaders should have ultimate trust that their teams will be just as effective at home, and if there are concerns, then it's worth talking about and coaching through. I think you're on to something!?
Vegabond; UltraRunning; Cinnamon Rolls
5 年Jess this is an incredible reflection. Thank you so much for sharing, and taking the time to reflect!
Partnerships Manager at Bishop Fox
5 年Absolutely love this article, Jess! I completely agree with you that working from home allows employees to implement more work/life balance and in the end can be far more productive throughout the day!