Researchers still haven’t figured out whether the 30 million+ Americans who were suddenly forced to work from home during the 2020 lockdown was good for productivity.
All I can say is, it worked for me.
As a long-time freelancer, I never imagined a day in which working from home would become so common it would earn its own acronym. Or where collaboration software would make an employee’s location irrelevant.
When I first became an independent consultant with a home office, I was part of a not well-understood minority. Even some of my family members side-eyed my decision. But I hated my commute (which could stretch to an hour and a half in bad weather, still short I know, by LA and NYC standards) and I resented that accounting for a day’s worth of billable hours was routinely derailed by office distractions.
My Pre-Covid Home Office
When I took the plunge to let go of a stable paycheck and go out on my own, I felt the need to prove myself as just as hard-working as any in-office counterpart. Especially in the field of PR, I knew optics and availability were just as important as my work product. I worked hard to present myself professionally.
I spent years begging family members to be quiet while I conducting a phone interview and obfuscating with clients when faced with a childcare emergency.
So by the time office buildings emptied out and millions joined me working remotely last spring, I had the routine down cold. Where new WFHers were scrambling to carve out ad hoc office space in suddenly overcrowded homes, I already had all the office accoutrements I needed—no ironing board desks or makeshift office chairs for me.
Blurred Lines
I felt a sense of camaraderie with this new legion of remote workers as they experienced the same delights—no makeup!—and travails—the isolation!—of home-officing that I’ve come to know so well. And I took just a little satisfaction knowing that I had long ago mastered the art of working from home, on my own, without anyone being the wiser. For me, the Covid pandemic helped re-frame my status as a WFH professional.
Unlike the scrutiny early WFHers faced, Corporate America took the early bumps in the transition to a remote workforce in stride. We laughed off unmuted mics, family interruptions, and naked cameos on Zoom calls. It was a pandemic after all, and everyone was new to this. Getting a glimpse into each others’ home lives made us all feel a little chummier — and maybe a little more forgiving.
Whether the majority of WFHers eventually return to offices — and the jury is still out on the extent that will happen — I’m grateful the lockdown of 2020 normalized working from home. It makes my job that much easier.