Prior to lockdown, I was able to resurrect my "corporate life" after a well-known hotel accepted me with open arms after almost a decade of working freelance. I remember being excited each morning as I used to commute from our house in Quezon City to the hotel where I'm working. But a lot of things had changed right after the lockdown.
"THE PANDEMIC HAS BROUGHT ABOUT TREMENDOUS CHANGES, AND WE COULDN’T HAVE ANTICIPATED THE SCALE OR SPEED AT WHICH THEY HAVE OCCURRED.”
Let's face it: Covid has totally changed us. And it's not just with the way we go out and the way we connect with people. I also got engaged a few months after the lockdown was lifted and eventually got married before the year 2020 ended.
Purple Plum Fairy and husband Jason
Right after the lockdown, I was told I'd be working from home. I enjoyed working from home full time when the pandemic happened. Simply because I had always been working from the comforts of my own bed (I got so used to it while working back then as a freelance writer). However, I also noticed the negative effects of working from home setup. In as much as I enjoyed working from home, there really was a negative impact. I realized it was hard to draw the line between home and work. I saw myself constantly thinking about work even before going to bed. And because I was at home, I had to cook for my family, I had to do all the groceries as well (And mind you, it wasn't easy.) It was a good thing we had a car to use and I had to ask my husband to drive me wherever I needed to go.
Because I was home, I had to spend quality time with my husband too and our dog as well. We reached a point where he got frustrated when I explained to him that I needed to work even if it's past 6PM because there was something that's needed to be done asap. Unlike when you're working from the office, once it's 6Pm, you know that you're job's done and you have the entire time to family and self alone. You automatically switch off to corporate life and turn on family quality time. It means your job's done for the day. With a WFH setup, you can't just do that.
At the same time, the good outcome was that I was able to attend appointments at any time during the day for as long as I've my phone data and I've my laptop with me. Indeed, every situation has its prod and cons and it's a matter of finding a way around it.
We never had the chance to spend our honeymoon at all. Two days after I got married, I had to transfer from our house in Quezon City to Las Pinas where my husband and I used to live. And then I was immediately back to working online. In between that, we then again moved out of Jason's parental house and decided to have a house we could call home, only this time in Bacoor, Cavite which is already considered a "province."
I don't know how long I'd be working from home. If I'd be given the chance to choose, I'd say that I've grown so much accustomed to this setup that even if it's quite difficult not to get distracted, I'd still choose to work from home. I pray to God that Covid will soon be gone and will just be a part of human history.
Things are indeed difficult now. But what is important is that we have work, we do something productive. There have been so many people who no longer have jobs, had been retrenched from work. We were still lucky to have jobs and still have salaries to look forward to. Not everyone is as lucky as we are. Life is short, make the most of it. Wherever you may be in this world, please stay safe!
No comments:
Post a Comment