#WorkingfromHome vs. #LivingatWork

We just passed the 5-month mark since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. No doubt for most if not all of us, the first 90 days (which I refer to as Phase 1 - Crisis Mode) flew by with days and nights blending together and with days of the week seemingly irrelevant as we mobilized. As a business community, we prepared to ensure that our employees were safe, our customers could be served, and our organizations could operate. As humans, we mobilized to support our first responders, front line and essential workers - who were (and still are) working around the clock to fight the effects and impact of this deadly virus, now a common enemy around the world. Phase 1 was all about “Responding and Reacting” to the dynamic crisis at hand unfolding across almost every community, every town, every county, every state, and nearly every country.  

On a formidable scale never before imagined, we experienced the pivot of business models, personal and professional support structures, and life dynamics to a virtualized environment - across education, numerous industries, healthcare, and more. Many adapted to “work from home”, and early on, some may have even found novelty in it as well as the silver lining of spending more time with family members and loved ones in closer quarters.  

Where are we now? I believe we’re in Phase 2 - a stage I refer to as “Return and Recovery”. The notion of “recovery” is clear in a business context. While some businesses are operating quite well in this environment, and some have found new life and success given the products and services they offer, others are struggling in a big way. The economic recession is a reality that impacts all of us - whether directly or indirectly. However, in addition to this business context of “recovery”, we must also focus on the personal context as the two are inextricably intertwined.

So, what about the “return” aspects of Phase 2? Originally it may have been defined as a return to the office. What’s now clear is that this will not happen for a while, if at all. This pandemic has shifted the vision for the future of the workplace, leapfrogging any prior program, with virtual work being thrust onto the main stage. As a result of this shift, I believe there is a burgeoning dilemma at hand, one that every remote worker and thus most businesses are facing. We are not really “working from home”. We are really “living at work”.  

The already blurred line between aspects of our personal and professional lives has become even more fuzzy, if not in some cases totally erased. As a result, boundaries we once set to revitalize ourselves and focus on our own health - whether physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual - have also faded. This is not good. Part of our Phase 2 as individuals, teams, organizations, and a community must be to help each other redefine and re-establish these boundaries - albeit in a transformed way. This is a “must do” in order for us to truly recover. Do you agree?  

If we are not at our best, how can we bring our best? And if we’re not bringing our best, how can we expect to positively move forward in a transformative way? And wouldn’t you agree that metamorphic change is what’s needed to break through the triad of crises we’re facing together - pandemic, recession, and systemic racism/social injustices?  

Let’s engage, collaborate, and work together to get better - to do better - to be better. All thoughts and tips welcome!