Enthusiastic and full of verve, I started my new professional challenge at Dinotronic AG in mid-February. But no sooner had I settled into my new workplace than I had to pack all my things again and go to the home office because of the Corona pandemic. Read this short report to find out how it went.
FIRST PHASE: REORGANIZE AND MOVE ON!
Although I didn’t have much home office experience, the transition was quick and straightforward. With an IT company as an employer, I naturally had the advantage of being equipped with all the necessary tools, but the first thing I had to do was order the right equipment online: an additional monitor, a mouse and a keyboard. The standing desk was, in a fit of overconfidence, only briefly in the shopping cart. Then the question arose as to where I could place myself for the next few weeks in order to avoid tedious moving of work utensils back and forth. Since there was no room for two in the office for my partner and me, I set up a permanent workspace in a corner of the living room – worth its weight in gold, to create some separation of work and private space.
With these and small other adjustments, as well as following some tips from my colleague, I quickly got the feeling that “remote work is the new normal.”
This is how my “workplace” looked at first. A table and two laptops.
SECOND PHASE: DISCOVERY OF A NEWFOUND FREEDOM
All in all, the time saved by working from home gave me a better balance between work and everything else. I was able to save my commute (1½-2 hrs/day), go for a run at lunchtime, or do some shopping during the day, plus it felt like I was implementing all the New Year’s resolutions of the past few years all at once in my newfound free time: I experimented with food and cooked everything myself, handled tools, tried countless do-it-yourself projects, and found enough motivation to exercise. Or rather, since my entire life was now happening at home, I developed an unprecedented urge to exercise. I had to get out every day for at least an hour, otherwise I felt like the ceiling would fall on my head.
THIRD PHASE: THE TECHNOLOGY GOES ON STRIKE
With a delay of almost two weeks, my ordered home office equipment arrived. Although I now had everything that should make working in the home office easier, the Internet no longer played along. Many people can probably confirm from their own experience that home office means more phone calls than usual, and that nothing really works without the Internet. Impatiently, I switched the WLAN on and off, waited for my laptop and especially Microsoft Teams (from which I had just been kicked out of a conference call) to find an Internet connection and rubbed my aching back. Now, I did regret deleting the standing desk from the shopping cart….
Fortunately, the Internet breakdown lasted only two days and everything returned to normal. Besides, my colleagues had always reacted to technical breakdowns with a lot of understanding and humor.
With my new equipment, I already liked my workspace in the home office much better!
FOURTH PHASE: BETWEEN CABIN FEVER AND NORMALITY
In the past, I had sometimes wondered what my partner’s workday was like. Now, at the latest, I know every detail, I wouldn’t even have thought about, recognize each of his colleagues by their voices. Despite the difficult separation of our two (working) days, I am grateful that I am not alone in this extraordinary time. I know some in my circle who live alone and thus have no social interaction most of the day. Or at least not a direct one.
For me, as a new employee, a similar problem arises. Spatially separated work creates a form of invisibility in the team. The fact that you are there and what you are working on is not necessarily clear across kilometers and via the Internet. What is missing is the interpersonal aspect, the direct exchange, the coffee breaks, etc., to get to know the team better, and above all personally. This makes me more appreciative of the trust placed in me by my employer, as well as the virtual lunch opportunities and coffee invitations to exchange ideas.
On the other hand, some days it seems quite normal to me. Since starting my new job, I have spent almost more time in the home office than in the office and have already become so accustomed to the situation, as if this were my normal working day.
MY CONCLUSION
I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, it’s clear to me that home office brings many advantages. There were one or two stumbling blocks, but basically, unlike others, I can continue to work normally thanks to Dinotronic and its modern solutions. That’s why the home office has solved many problems for me, even if it has created new ones. For example, I can completely disconnect from home for certain tasks and wind down, whereas for other tasks I miss the quick exchange with colleagues and their input. Also, when working remotely, not everything runs at the push of a button right away, but like many others, I have learned to make the best of weeks at the home office.
Of course, no two situations are alike, and my own experiences might not be representative of anyone else’s. And in the end, one thing is certain: work remains work, no matter where it happens from. But the anticipation of the office is there.
