Alexandra Tureschi, HR Manager at Majorel
I have been working from home already since the 17th of March and I can say I don’t actually know how the time has passed. It has been tough, especially in the first weeks of the pandemic. But now we are all getting used to this and everything is much more natural. All our efforts in the first weeks were around moving people to a working from home setup while making sure we achieve the operational numbers and provide the same quality services to our customers. All the globe was going through this and it made us feel we are all in the same boat. Almost 1000 employees are now delivering great customer service from home, using technology and fantastic online tools. I must admin that this is AMAZING, and we could not have done it without the involvement of our employees.
We are still adapting to this kind of work and we are learning something new every day, as the challenges turn to be different now. Mixed feelings, ups and downs, good or bad experiences, does that ring a bell? Do I miss my team? Badly. Miss the “real” jokes and laugh as well as the welcoming environment in the office. Also miss the travelling I used to do across the country and abroad. But I also know that safety comes first and that this will eventually end so that all of us can go back to the normal lives we used to have. Or at least go back to the new normal as they call it. I like to call it “the NEW”. Who said that before everything was actually normal?
I have been reading in the past different authors and all I can say is that I fully agree with the fact that the best skill to teach our kids now is around how to adapt to any kind of environment. This will be the top skill of the future and now I am more than convinced that the way we get through this pandemic, will help us develop it in both professional and personal life.
I have been working from home together with my 5-year-old daughter, who is always eager to get 100% attention. Even in my longest or fiercest calls.She learned how to be more silent during important calls or when preparing Excel reports, she now understands what mummy is doing and what are the general rules we apply during the working schedule. After the first chaotic weeks of working from home, I decided to implement a sort of weekly schedule for her and everything turned out to be easier. This schedule included of course artistic activities, attending theatre shows, watching YouTube tutorials on how to build Lego or Play Dough stuff or even dance. Meals as well. And cartoons of course. Ad hoc video meetings with her friends via Messenger also helped. Us as well. One of the biggest challenges was to learn how to separate work from personal activities. As you get used to working in the same room where you cook or play with the little one, as it was in my case, you don’t know exactly when to shut down your PC. This topic is also solved now.
Did I learn something during this time frame? Did something change? For sure. I now know that pigeons feel extremely cosy on our balcony while me and my husband were usually away during the weekdays. I cook more of course. Live speeches from the president and the labour or internal affairs ministers have become a delight. Webinars and video calls have flooded my calendars.
Keeping your balance in a natural way, adapting to any new regulations and accepting the change is what we need to focus on right now. We are far from those fighting in the front line but in the same time we are the ones keeping the economy rolling. And we are doing it successfully.
We are not close to what we used to call normal, yet we made it! The future as we continue building it looks bright
Several WFH tips and tricks from my side:
– Remember that you need to shut down your PC when the working schedule has ended.
– Eat fruits and Drink coffee if you used to have these healthy habits when coming in the office.
– Keep contact with your colleagues, maintain more or less the same environment by using our virtual tools (Skype).
– Create daily schedules and engage your kids with artistic activities or have them watch interesting cartoons or documentaries. You can discuss about what they watched during the family diner. Offer them special points for doing great stuff while you work.
– Read good books. Bookster, one of our top benefit providers, is there to help. Here are some of my favourite writers now: Elif Shafak, Paolo Coehlo, Guzel Iahina, Delia Owens.
– Listen to music when you can. “One World: Together at home” concert has definitely added new singers or songs to my current SONOS playlists.
– Watch good movies, documentaries or series via Netflix or HBO GO.
