Let’s get physical were the lyrics of the famous hit if you are old enough to recall of course. But the past few days were all about turning our lives to their virtual versions.
So I thought I could share with you what this transition meant for me and how these virtual days look like.
I am very lucky to work in a company that really cares for its employees hence we were given the opportunity to work from home and protect ourselves and others. Until the COVID-19 crisis I have worked from home when I really wanted to focus on a project that required my full attention or when my commute to the office would be impaired by any reason. Normally I would work from home once a week or every two weeks. With the current situation we will be working from home until it is safe to not to and no one actually knows when it will be safe again.
That being said, I have to admit that initially I had mixed feelings about not being able to physically interact with my colleagues and how that could affect my productivity and motivation. In reality, I discovered tons of new tech tools for video calls and chat and almost everyone proposed a solution or had a proposition about how to better deal with the situation. Our team has actually reacted miraculously! People came up with all sorts of ideas on how to keep in touch and have fun that I believe that we ended up feeling more connected and close than ever.
how did that happen?
In fact, new break rituals were adopted and we found ways to interact around the virtual water fountain and beyond the ‘let’s grab a cup of coffee’ breaks. We opted for video calls instead of chatting or calls. As a result, colleagues introduced us to their pets, their favorite corners of their homes and their home cooked meals and the great energy and atmosphere that our offices have, was recreated virtually. That being said, none of the above would have been possible without the contribution of a fantastic IT team, the heroes of the ‘day’, who answered patiently our requests.
Overall, not only the great office climate was recreated but all of us showed genuine care for each other and helped to keep our spirits high during these rough times.
After office hours, my yoga lesson took place via video call, my son’s play day was also made possible via the same way and I actually got to watch a theater play on line. See? Not so bad after all…