How Coronavirus is changing what we do and how we do it
The UK workforce has started their second week working from home. Many of us are only leaving our homes once a day for exercise, and we are all practicing social distancing. Parents are juggling home educating their children, working full time and being a parent - without the usual activities and distractions for their kids. And as I write this, the deputy chief medical officer has stated that it could be six months before the UK returns to normal! So, as week two stretches ahead of us, thoughts of how the Coronavirus is changing what we do and how we do it, possibly forever, are at the forefront of our minds.
The Coronavirus pandemic has already forced us to drastically rethink how we live our lives and how we work. As part of the team who had been working on bringing Brighton it’s first family friendly coworking space, I have been left questioning how the mindset towards work, and especially cowork, is changing. How do you foster collaboration if you aren’t in the same physical space? How do you build community without face to face contact? Once this situation is over will there still be a demand for coworking? Have people found working from home easy and will they want to continue, or could they even fear using a shared office space in the future?
Globally, coworking spaces have taken a huge hit in the last few weeks as people have been told to work from home. Second Home has closed it’s London sites and the, already troubled, ‘WeWork’ has many people wondering if COVID19 could be the death of it. However, the industry has responded quickly to the restrictions with events and meet ups and social gatherings for the communities being moved online.
Last week was a week of new experiences for myself and my daughter. I took part in online courses, webinars and work meetings via online video apps. My daughter and I danced around the living room with other parents and toddlers (virtually of course) at a music class and we did online Yoga together. A set routine still alludes us, however we are slowly adapting and days are generally fun and full, if a bit frazzled.
But there is no denying that working from home can be difficult and isolating. Not everything can be done via Zoom and Skype. Although we can’t deny the novelty of seeing inside colleague’s home’s and meeting their pets and kids who walk in and out of shot, having a work station in a separate room that we can retreat into for privacy, peace and quiet is a luxury not everyone has.
Mentally, it is not always easy to thrive in the home environment and it can be isolating in the extreme. People need people. To talk to, to bounce ideas off, for connection and collaboration. Working from home and social distancing are likely to exacerbate loneliness and feelings of isolation which in themselves have devastating consequences to both physical and mental health.
Looking towards the future, perhaps home working, whether by necessity or choice, could be a precursor to coworking? Through the COVID-19 situation many companies will learn that individuals can work remotely. They will see that, with the right support, employees don’t need to be watched over to keep them focussed and they can be productive without being physically present in a busy London headquarters building.
It is too soon to try and predict the shape of work after Coronavirus, but we can hope for some positives. Perhaps this pandemic will shine light on a new way of working which is closer to home, closer to our community and will enable us to say yes to the kids bath and bedtime and yes to having dinner (and possibly even lunch!) together.
