Let’s be honest. None of us were prepared for COVID. Much more, we weren’t ready for the effects of the pandemic on our daily lives. Social distancing mandates have placed many people in a precarious position, forcing us to adopt all-new standards of interacting with one another (or perhaps, more accurately, not interacting). One of the main ways this standard has been enacted: work from home (WFH).
Many businesses have sent their employees back to their homes to work safely, free of the risk of virus transmission. If you work for one of these companies, you can say sayonara to your coworker’s pet peeves and hello to laundry at lunch and rambunctious kids interrupting your Zoom calls! Quite the trade-off, isn’t it?
A New Era of Working from Home
In a survey by Global Workplace Analytics in partnership with Dr. Anita Kamouri, co-founder of Iometrics, it was revealed that more than half of the United States workforce (56%) currently fill telecommuting-compatible roles. Most people in this group – about 43% – work at home at least some of the time, giving newcomers to the WFH lifestyle plenty of examples of what not to do.
Fortunately, not all the hiccups that come with a transition into remote work are too bad. Forgetting to lock your office door so your kid barges in during your meeting is far from a serious offense. Forgetting your pants during a Zoom call, though? Pretty bad.
Thankfully, this time has proven to be more comically challenging for some than others. Many are noticing things about their houses and their families that they never knew before. Listening to each other during virtual work meetings has clued us into the strange habits of our spouses, and the 24/7 quality time spent with your kids may have revealed some… less than adorable tendencies.
The WFH lifestyle has given many remotely operating professionals a run for their money. To escape the stress of the moment and join in on the fun, here are a few of the most common shenanigans people have experienced working from home.
