Working From Home

Remote work was the future and the future is now.

Seriously though, the concept of remote work started way back in the 1990s when personal computers and the internet allowed people to work offsite for the first time. I've been reading about it "being the future" for quite a long time now, and while many organizations have adopted remote work in some capacity, it feels like a lot of organizations are stuck in the past in this regard.

Or at least they were until COVID-19 pushed them kicking and screaming into the future. Adapt or die, I suppose? I'm curious to see how popular the concept is once things start going back to normal.

I've been fortunate enough that my employer already had a pretty nice remote work policy, in that they allowed each department to determine the specifics of their rules for themselves and all employees have a laptop with a travel bag and power cord ready to go. Specifically, my department allows everyone to work from home four times a month without any reason and unlimited additional times if there's a solid reason behind it (like if you're expecting a big package delivery that you don't want stolen). As such, I was prepared for what to expect when my employer announced that working remote would be the new normal for the foreseeable future.

For those of you new to remote work, here's some interesting statistics about remote workers that might make you feel less alone:

46% wear sweatpants or yoga pants
62% work equal or fewer hours than at the office
34% start work late
50% are also cooking
21% are also watching TV

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to share a photo of my home workspace with you all today. I'm fortunate enough that we've got a spare bedroom that we use as an office and exercise room, which is where I'm working during the pandemic:

And because it's much prettier, here's my partner's workspace in what was originally meant to be her crafts corner of the basement. She even has a window:

For those of you now working remotely, how's it going for you? Where in your home are you working?

Stay healthy and sane!

-Ryan

Comments

I've Been Unemployed for a Month

Sorry I haven't written here in a while. So much was happening in those first few months of the pandemic, and then it seemed like everything just kind of slowed to a crawl before it all went stale. Every day has been the same thing. People don't believe facts. People are getting sick. The pandemic isn't over yet. We need to stay home. We need a sense of normalcy. The numbers are down. The numbers are up. On and on and on in a never-ending loop. Like many people, I fell into a sort of numb depression without even realizing it. The pandemic and quarantine weren't great for my mental health, and I stagnated. I kept on going through the motions, but it was all in a sort of half-conscious way. Fortunately, a few months ago I became aware of this and made some changes to improve my mental health and overall lifestyle. It seemed like everything was going to be alright again. Then, after an incredibly stressful two months at work during which I worked and pushed myself harder t

News Updates for Posterity

As I said in my previous blog post, I'm not sure there's really anything significantly new to say about this pandemic since it's been going on far longer than it should have. That said, I still want to keep this blog updated on a somewhat regular basis for future historical reference. In the absence of any new insights to share, I'm going to share and comment on some recent news. July 14: CDC says U.S. could get coronavirus under control in one to two months if everyone wears a mask This is pretty much the thing I've been preaching from the beginning because I respect the advice of educated experts. Still, it's nice to have the CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (spelled out, capitalized, and bold in case you forgot that this pandemic is literally what the CDC was designed to help us with) slap the nation across the face with how badly we're messing up and how quickly we could be done with quarantining if everyone just wore their damn masks. July 15

The Escalation of Events

So yesterday I stumbled upon this article in which a respiratory therapist describes in detail what the worst of COVID-19 looks like in the hospital. These disturbing descriptions were all new to me, which is worrisome given how far into this pandemic the world already is. The details of the disease shouldn't still be unknown or downplayed at this point. I began to reflect on my experience learning about this disease and how long it took for me to take it seriously versus how quickly everything seemed to go wrong. I was away on business in Boston for PAX East (a big video game convention) from February 25th through March 2nd. There was talk of the "novel coronavirus" at the time but I didn't know much about it. While I worked my booth and walked the convention floor I couldn't help but notice the (relatively small but nonetheless) increased number of attendees wearing face masks at the event. I just kind of shrugged it off, thinking it was good that peo

Ryan's COVID-19 Chronicles

Search This Blog