I have read the blogs from our team and after a week of working at home I feel touched. I feel we should publish the lot, warts and all. We are not a perfect team, no team is, but we are a great team and I am so proud to work with them.
We have all dealt with this differently. On the first day, my children were still in childcare and husband still at work, once the usual IT mishaps were out of the way, I was off. I thought, oh, peace and quiet, I got loads done. Day two, suddenly virtual meetings got busier than actual meetings, no travel time between them, one beep and phone call after another, but I still thrived. After the first two days, everything got a bit more serious, I feel responsible for the team and for once I feel I don’t have the answers (trust me, this is unusual for me – I’ve been here 14 years and seem to retain random information, some bits more useful than others). I have had sleepless nights and felt like I am letting my team down, but, then they pick me up as much as I try to pick them up.
My children and husband being at home was another pivot point. As much as I love my husband, let’s hope this only lasts for three weeks, not three months. I like plans and set timings, he likes to wander in and out, take a call when needed and shoving the children in front of the TV. Let’s see we are not always in agreement.
By yesterday things had settled down. I enforced a plan on my husband and this has helped me to still do my job and be a mother.
So now, one week in, how am I feeling. I’m not having sleepless nights, I’m talking to my team loads on our group and video messaging and have the support of my management too. I have realised, home working life is not so different from normal life. There will still be personnel issues, there will still be days when we laugh a lot, there will still be quieter days. There will still be times when I feel conflicted as an employee and a mother, but all of those were there before.
One thing is for sure, I owe my team an apology, as I have realised how little I do the tea run!