Our new normal
When the UK entered lockdown in March this year, workplaces were forced into home-working. But how many of us were actually prepared for this? Using some interview style questions, myself, Paul and Stephen thought we would share our experiences of home working, our spaces, the challenges we faced, the positive outcomes and where we are now compared to almost 6 months ago.
When we first entered lockdown and made the change to home-working, what was your initial reaction to this?
Hannah: At first, I was skeptical about how well I would be able to work from home. I had quite a lot of negative connotations with the idea so I was not looking forward to it! However, my initial feelings towards the business were fairly positive. Due to us having teams, remote access and zoom we were prepared for this to happen and I had quite a positive outlook on us managing - when faced with any hurdle we always manage in the end.
Stephen: In a word, FEAR! Heading into the lockdown, we were just about to start a big project that required big collaboration. This type of work, historically we’d only ever done whilst being present in the office. Over the previous few weeks we had been trialling a certain application that allowed for easy collaboration, that could integrate with cloud storage, team chats, video calls etc. This app, Microsoft teams, ended up fitting perfectly into the way we were forced to work. It enabled us to stay connected and collaborate on the different processes, ordinarily we would run through as a team, and in person. As with everyone, worldwide, we were thrown in at the deep end. We had an imminent deadline, so it had to work. Although some aspects were a major compromise, as a whole, it worked well in the circumstances and made the following months of home working a lot easier.
Paul: It was a very surreal moment, I will never forget the feeling when we locked up the office and headed off home with the car full of IT equipment and spares just in case. We really didn’t know when we would return.
We were also in the middle of a particularly busy period, where teamwork would be crucial for us to deliver. I must admit to being a little worried, would working remotely seriously hamper us and our ability to co-create? In a pre-covid world, we had all the tools and infrastructure to work remotely but had never envisaged this being used for the whole team at the same time. By nature we are very collaborative as a team, love a challenge and exploring new ways of doing things, but this was going to be very different.
For one, I really enjoy being in the office, many of us spend more time with our colleagues than our families and this forms bonds, friendships and different ways of working together. So whist home provided a safe haven I was anxious to find out how our culture would survive in the world of Teams and Zoom.
What were the challenges you faced?
Hannah: Probably like many millennials, I’m living at home whilst saving for my own, so being in a house with family caused a huge amount of distraction. I think on the first day within 1 hour we’d had two arguments 😂 We just went from all being in the house at different times, then suddenly all being together without any boundaries for “work areas”.
As a team, we did face that sink or swim scenario which really hit us in that first few weeks. I initially didn’t think about this at all. I struggled a lot mentally, I had a lot of up and down days. I just wasn’t used to working so independently, I enjoy being part of a team, collaborating and getting the social engagement from going into work.
My biggest challenge though, was definitely trying to give myself a dedicated workspace. I was in denial really because I genuinely believed it would be 3 weeks and we would be back to work - obviously that was not the case! For about 12 weeks I was sat at either a tiny folding table or an DIY sit stand ironing board with a horrendous chair. I actually really liked the ironing board, but my youth gave way eventually and you can’t get a good task chair under it so my back was in agony! When our office opened I did eventually go in and get myself some decent furniture!
Stephen: On a personal level, I had some big changes happening in my life, whilst at the same time the world was locking down. At the very beginning of the UK going into lock down, I was about to move into a new house. Earlier in the year, we had moved back to my parents, ready to get the keys for our new house. Lockdown hit and suddenly, it looked like getting those keys just wasn’t going to happen. Thankfully it was all pushed through by the various parties and we moved, albeit, into an empty shell. For obvious reasons, the flooring and furniture we had on order was on hold indefinitely. Luckily we still had an old dining table and our chairs, so we had a base from which to work from. As I write this in August, we have only just received our sofa and had the remainder of our flooring fitted, so up until then, comfort has been a major challenge we have faced.
Paul: The biggest challenged proved not to be the IT, or collaboration for that matter. The team really pulled together and we managed creative ways to exploit the best from the situation, and probably produced some of our best work ever during the first few weeks.
My biggest challenge was actually understanding how the team were really coping, we all had very different scenarios to deal with and varied levels of comfort, distractions and challenges working from home. When you are asking someone over a teams call how they are doing, you really have to concentrate to understand how they are really doing. For me, face to face is by far the best way to gauge someones true reaction.
Looking back now, I was never switching off. In the beginning, I didn’t see this as a problem because I was probably really enjoying it. But being able to jump on the computer and be at work any time night or day can not be good long term. Over the years, my daily commute became my way of switching off between work and home.
Did you find any positives or opportunities from working from home?
Hannah: After the first month, I started to adapt and feel a lot of the benefits from working at home. My mood lifted, I was able to focus, work around the home flexibly, home comforts and saving a lot on transport and food.
As a business though, we really gained a great amount of insight which opened up opportunities we hadn’t looked at previously. We evolved in new and different ways, which got us finishing our website, opening up an online store and really getting into home-working as this new exciting area of Workpattern! We pushed our social media, attended a lot of webinars, challenged our own knowledge and even set up our own research. We really achieved so much alongside running projects - even an Aeron give-away!
Having that time and less distraction in the office allowed us to join up some dots and just connect our workplace knowledge to this new idea of remote working. Thinking about it now, we achieved so much in such a short space of time! It’s been a very positive experience and helped us achieve positive growth.
Stephen: The main positive for me has been, being able to get the complete focus required for certain tasks. The distractions within the office have meant some parts of my job would take longer than necessary, but when working from home I am able to focus a lot easier than before - making me feel more productive on those heads down, focus tasks.
The improved Work-Life balance is definitely a positive for me, with less time spent on the roads and in traffic in the commute to and from the office. This forced experiment on the world of work, has provided an opportunity for most, in adding flexibility into what we do. I don’t recall the exact source, but on one of the various industry webinars I have attended it was mention that “we are no longer measured on time, but on our output’’. Being measured on time is based on a different era in work, so I hope this carries forward into the future of work in general.
Paul: Most definitely! My personal productivity was much higher allowing focused work and the time/seclusion to get work done, whilst still explore new ideas and take advantage of the various webinars going on to fuel our insight and learning. The extra time saved from the commute allowed me to throw myself into far more than I could normally. Additionally, the ability to spend some time during the day at lunch for example with other members of the family was almost a first for me. My oldest daughter was working in the adjoining room to me and would pop in to ask questions or just to chat - a bit like a co-worker.
Another key finding for me was the change in other people, from our supply partners and clients. Every conversation was just different and everyone showed a true sense of empathy and compassion for each other. We are in this together and how do we come together to get things done.
One more big positive for me was the regular dealer community calls with our partner Herman Miller. Normally we get to meet with the most senior management once a year. But now we could bring the global teams together and directly on a regular basis to get a real understanding of the situation as it evolved around the world. How regions were coping with the lock down and eventually the gradual reopening of facilities. Again a huge sense of being in this together and feeling part of a hugely resilient network brings confidence and shared knowledge that was much needed and not thought possible pre Covid.
Where are you now and how are you working?
Hannah: So as much as I ended up enjoying home working some days, my challenges didn’t really lift and I’m not as productive, so I took a gradual return to the office. I’m one of those weirdos who just loves the office! Now I’m going in about 3-4 days a week. But with the experience of lockdown we are so much more flexible so I choose my workplace based on the tasks at hand.
Also, by getting a grasp on all those tasks and achievements I mentioned before, it has gave the Workpattern team such a great platform and the ability to just push it further. I think we are in a positive place.
Stephen: I now have a dedicated room in the house where I have a large 27” iMac Pro and my MacBook Pro, set up on a desk with a beautiful Herman Miller Aeron chair. Depending on the task, I will use this home office, the kitchen table, the living room or even the garden.
In the last couple of weeks I have started visiting the office for 1-2 days a week as well. This is great for that face to face interaction and collaboration we so greatly missed in the height of lockdown, but also those chance encounters we no longer get when not being present in the office.
A balance of the two locations works great at the moment, keeping engagement with the wider business and colleagues, but also having the flexibility and choice of where to work from.
Paul: The office 90% of the time…It’s interesting how old habits easily and quickly take hold! Whilst it’s great to spend time with the team again, personally, I have slipped into the habit of assuming I need to spend the majority of my week in the office which is not strictly the case.
As good as it is to be back in there are some benefits from structuring this and remembering that some tasks are better accomplished at home.
