Having to be out of the house, into the car and on the road by 7:30 a.m. to arrive on time for a 9 a.m. lecture or seminar is a tall order. It's by far the worst event that I have to experience regularly - stepping out of my warm, cosy house into the freezing cold pitch black (as it always is at that time of day in England). So, when my university announced that most of our classes were going to be online, I was (and still am) hoping that they are considerate enough to make early classes one of the priorities for online learning. No more shall I be sat in my little red car trying to warm up, my left knee aching from pinning my clutch pedal down whilst I wait for the mile-long queue (which is only this short on a good day) to die down.
Honestly, despite the lack of commuting being beneficial to both my ever-weary left knee and the environment (fewer CO2 emitting miles each week), I have desperately missed the routine of travelling to uni and seeing my friends. Say what you like but phone calls are nothing like being with people in real life. “Yes, but I have brand new, ridiculously expensive, high-quality earphones so it sounds like you’re in the room”, says that person...Well, apologies, I didn’t realise that if I spent an arm and a leg I could hear an in-person version of you! Oh, but don’t despair folks, there is a cheaper and more realistic way to talk to your friends and family... in person!
In all seriousness though, since the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in various levels of lockdowns and quarantines, working from home has become the new normal. Whether you're a student or full-time employee for a large corporation, everyone has had to adapt to working from home, an environment which is vastly different from a classroom or office. Personally, I have experienced equal amounts of ups and downs whilst working from home, but the last few months have really made me appreciate the freedoms I have recently lost. For one, the ability to move from room to room for each class is something that I miss the most. Sitting at my desk at home, although I love my workspace, is tiresome and boring. I feel the need to move around in order to stay motivated, but other rooms in my house are occupied by different family members, with various noisy activities going on in each. These range from the TV being on full volume, strange music being played in the kitchen-diner, and important business phone calls happening in my parents’ office. I’m sure you agree that all of these scenarios are less than inviting when trying to write an essay or read in peace in preparation for an upcoming seminar. I’m confident that people who have moved their work lives back home will also agree that finding the ideal working conditions in a busy home is a difficult task (not to forget trying to ensure that you have the right technology and a co-operative internet connection!)
Even though the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a massive shift in the ways people study and work, it seems that it is unlikely to last. From conversations with my friends, family, colleagues, and other people from various social circles (all socially distanced conversations, of course), the general consensus seems to be that working from home is inconvenient to say the least. Some of the most frequent complaints about working from home include too much background noise, a lack of routine and therefore motivation, a reduction in socialising with friends and colleagues, and last but not least, the difficulty of separating work from down-time. It's also important to remember that many people are unable to work from home because of the sector they work in. For instance, in 2019, 17.88% of the working population were employed in the manufacturing sector (source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/270382/distribution-of-the-workforce-across-economic-sectors-in-the-united-kingdom/). It is virtually impossible to move manufacturing to a home environment and most industries across the board experience similar logistical issues. Take, for example, construction, health and beauty, and retail (high street stores and shopping centres in particular). So although Covid has forced us all to use a reduced workforce or to work in our own homes for the time being, once the government gives the green light, I’m sure many of us will be keen to return to our usual places of work and study.
By Kay Miller
Image Courtesy of Alex Qian via Pexels
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