The WFHoneymoon

WFH-1/2
My first romance with work from home was during my stint at tech consulting at the start of my career. As much as I loved my work, WFH let me pay attention to personal priorities, travel home, save leaves, and enjoy the best of both worlds. Lockdown has allowed this relationship to bloom again. I get to stay home & own all of my time. On busy days, I usually end up working a lot more than I normally would, thanks to a lack of commute, lunch breaks, gossip, office events, and schedule constraints. All of this time saved, however, comes with flimsy work schedules. Meetings are fewer and quicker, but so are catch-ups, quick gyaan sessions and coffee seshes. It is harder to build and sustain peer relationships due to a lack of in-person chats, exchange of notes & face-to-face resolutions. It is difficult to collaborate for work, stay visible and track progress digitally. And it doesn’t stop there, keeping work hours separate from household chores is a struggle, particularly with no extra help. The urge to multi-task is high, with dirty dishes, laundry, jhadu-poccha, at times a bored spouse all within line of sight. As the new normal overshadows the old, work dynamics would inadvertently adapt. In the meantime, WFH honeymoon is over and it’s time to make this marriage work.