A personal guide to remote work, job interviews and self-care in the time of COVID-19 By, Taylor Marshall
Image credit: Taylor Marshall
Since the COVID-19-induced lockdown started back in March, there have been many, many, many articles, blogs and social media posts about remote work and how to cope.
Here are two that I found particularly helpful:
1 ) A Millennial's Biggest Working From Home Questions, Answered By, Emma McGowan | Bustle
2) An Actually Useful Guide to Not Being On Your Phone All the Time By, Rachel Miller | Vice
I have read several other articles on these topics and felt that it was the first time that most people in the working world were actually on the same page as me. Why is that you may ask?
I’m a homebody. Nothing makes me happier than being curled up in a blanket on my couch.
At my previous workplace it was not uncommon for staff to work from home on a regular basis. It was my first real experience with this kind of office culture and it not only made me even more grateful for my job, but it actually took a lot of stress off of my shoulders for 3 reasons:
1) I was a commuter - God forbid it was one of those mornings in the dead of winter where the bus and train are delayed to the point where you are waiting so long that you could actually do your entire commute there and back again in the time you’ve spent waiting to get to work. At my workplace I had the option to say “NOPE” to winter and do my daily duties from the comfort of home. (In my pyjamas of course.)
2) I didn’t have to worry about rescheduling or skipping important personal appointments - This also ties into commuting; if I had an appointment during the middle of the work day it wasn’t exactly optimal for me to make the trip into work only to leave 3 or 4 hours later to be on time for a personal appointment. I could simply work remotely in the morning, go to my appointment, grab lunch, come home and continue my work day.
3) Family emergencies - It goes without saying that if you have ever experienced a family emergency or tragedy your work sometimes gets pushed to the back-burner. Knowing that I had the option not only to take time off, but to work remotely during a time where I needed to be there for my family took A LOT of stress off of me.
All of these points are just a long-winded way of me expressing my appreciation for remote work and why it should become the norm for most companies in the months and years to come.
Now, I know that for a lot of industries remote work simply isn’t possible. (Health care, food and beverage, retail etc.) For industries such as corporate communications and PR this pandemic has proven that it’s not vital for employees to make the trip into the office 5 days a week.
Thanks to remote servers, e-mail, Zoom, Slack, Google Docs and many other important comms. programs we have been able to stay in contact and interact with our co-workers during the workday.
There have definitely been some hiccups along the way - there always will be in the age of technology, but from my conversations with old co-workers, friends, family and current colleagues, remote work has been a positive change in their lives and they would very much like to work from home most, if not all of the workweek for the foreseeable future.
“Over the last six months, employers who had most or all of their employees working in the office have witnessed firsthand the benefits of work-from-home environments,” says Ashna Haji, my bestie and Marketing Specialist at Panasonic Canada Inc. “With all the communication and collaboration tools that are available today, many employees with office jobs can work remotely with minimal disruptions to their workflows. Working from home offers both convenience and flexibility to employees, without sacrificing productivity.”
Once COVID-19 is under control I can totally see important in-person meetings, workshops, seminars and conferences resuming. But I really think that the workplaces that can, should consider flexible work options for staff. If a staff member wants to come into the office 2, maybe 3 times a week sometimes - that should be o.k. If they want to work remotely all 5 days of the workweek - that should be fine too. If they want to come into the office for the entire workweek - more power to them, that’s perfectly fine. (Obviously all of this is subjective and depends completely on you, your job, your office culture and the projects/deadlines on your plate.)
Interviews
The switch to remote work has also affected how we apply and interview for jobs. I can speak from experience as I am part of the small percentage of people who were able to land a new job in the middle of a pandemic.
The interview (I’ll admit, I was unaware that it was actually an interview at the time) took place over the phone. That part wasn’t new to me as most of the first round and/or second round interviews I’ve had while searching for a job have been over the phone. The thing that I had never experienced and something that I need to get used to when I interview for a new position is the Zoom interview.
Look - I’ll be frank, I am SUPER awkward when it comes to video calls. (I know I’m not the only one. Social media proves it). It’s harder to maintain eye contact, for some reason we can’t take our eyes off of our own zoom square, connection issues - the list goes on. As shy and reserved as I can be sometimes I have come to realize that I prefer an in-person meeting to a Zoom/Facetime video call.
Even so, this is our new reality and I need to adapt to video-based job interviews. It can only get better with time, right?
Self-Care
I couldn’t end this post without talking about self-care. As I mentioned in the beginning of this post, I have read several articles about the importance of self-care during the pandemic, especially if you are working from home. You have probably read some articles on this topic too and I am here to really get the point across - Self-care is VERY important.
Image credit: Taylor Marshall
I didn’t seriously start practicing self-care until after I graduated University. You may be thinking, “What? How did you cope with the stress of undergrad?” Well, honestly, I did have coping mechanisms in place for when I got stressed out and I did have a set schedule for when I would do work and when I would have some “me-time”, but I don’t think I had the vocabulary or the self-awareness to really understand what self-care is and just how important it is.
My self-care journey started around the time I landed a post-grad internship at a PR firm. This was my first real 9-5 office job experience and of course the job required me to hit the ground running.
In the early days of the internship I barely carved out any after-work time for myself. I would go to work and come home with just enough time to eat dinner, take a shower and go to bed to do it all again the next day. On weekends I was too tired to do anything but lay around in my pyjamas and catch up on the shows I missed during the week.
Mid-way through the internship I knew I had to make a change. I wasn’t happy as I knew I’d abandoned some of the coping mechanisms I had in place for myself while I was in University and my “me-time” was non-existent. This is when I discovered self-care.
At the time my perception of self-care was lavish weekday or weekend excursions or impulse purchases on expensive wine, candles or clothes. At the time I was a new grad on an intern’s budget and there was no way I could afford those things without the guilt of the purchase swallowing me whole later. When I finally researched what self-care actually was and the things I could actually do to de-stress I felt a lot better. (I’m sure my bank account did as well).
Fast forward to present day and my self-care routine is almost exactly the same as it was when I started practising all those years ago during my internship. (With one or two additions now that I’m slowly but surely coming up in the world.)
Here are some of my coping mechanisms:
5K+ runs - I usually make time to run a couple times during the week year-round. (Weather and allergy permitting). If I’m feeling extremely stressed and irritated I’ll head out for a run until I’m more relaxed.
Yoga/Pilates - My Yoga/Pilates practice usually goes hand-in-hand with my running schedule as a cool down activity, but if the weather is bad or my body isn’t up for pounding the pavement for an hour I’ll do this instead.
Baths - Hot water, epsom salt and a Lush bubble bar. Need I say more?
Spa day - Yes, I’m aware that this is totally bougie, but there is nothing like a spa day. Before the pandemic I had a spa membership that would allow me to book one special packaged spa service a month. A message was my go to service because I tend to hold all of my stress in my shoulders and the minute the massage therapist worked her magic all of that tension disappeared and I was a new woman. I haven’t found the courage to head back to the spa not because the one I go to isn’t safe, but because I haven’t quite got out of the quarantine head-space. I’m working on it.
Binge-watching - I feel like this is the most common activity in most people’s self-care routine. Just wrap me up in a blanket (maybe with some fast food) and I’ll be a lump on the couch for hours on end.
Reading - A book + Tea = Bliss
Overall, I’ve been able to maintain a good work/life balance throughout the course of the pandemic. If anything it’s been a lot easier to do so with my house doubling as my workplace 5 days a week. In the months ahead there is a threat of a second wave of COVID-19. Remote work combined with a self-care routine will be just as, if not more important, to you and your family’s well-being. I hope we are all able to stay as safe as possible and continue to find peace and comfort during this crazy time.