AdNews brings the stories of those working from home (WFH) in the advertising and media industry during the coronavirus crisis.
Erin Zillman is marketing manager at Foxtel Media.
How are you dealing with the silence?
How often do you hear people say “god l love having roommates!”. Well this is actually one of those times. As you can see from our “home office” setup in our tiny three bedroom apartment in North Bondi, I feel particularly lucky to live with two legends that I can banter with all day. Not sure if that feeling is necessarily reciprocated. However, they’re such good sports and are always up for a chat/bitch session/laugh. I know my work colleague Carla will be happily restoring some of her hearing over these next few months thanks to WFH.
What’s the upside?
Working in my sweaty, smelly activewear for as long as I like after my morning run or pathetic attempt at a home workout. Sometimes it’s all day (today is one of those days), sometimes I shower at 10.30am.
Another upside - Late last year my physio told me that the muscles in the right side of my neck are bigger than the ones on the left because I turn to my left too much (to speak to Carla). Since working from home I can only assume my neck muscles have evened out a little more.
The downside?
Absolutely impossible to narrow down to one, so I’ll have to give you top three. These feels change weekly so a caveat that this is where my head is at in this very moment:
The feeling of never truly being off the clock. The work never stops and the guilt can get to you when your laptop is staring at you 24/7. There’s something about shutting down the office computer and walking away from it that distinctly signals the end of the working day.
Looking in my wardrobe at all the outfits that are begging to be worn. I just purchased this stunning emerald green skirt that has only been debuted once and it’s a real shame she’s locked away for the foreseeable future.
No more $10 vermicelli salads from the café downstairs in our office building. They were cheap, delicious, healthy & I miss them dearly.
How are you using the commuting time saved?
My clothes have never been more clean and washing basket has never been more empty. I’m also supporting my local café by purchasing 1+ coffees each morning, which I consume on my couch whilst catching up with Scott and Gladys. I’ll flick the computer on around 8am and ease into my day with COVID-19 updates via The Australian and much less important updates via Daily Mail eg. one of today’s headlines “Michael is dating KC and they’re in self iso together”.
I am looking forward to being back in the office because …
I’ll be far far away from the kitchen so will hopefully lose the 7kg I am destined to pack on over these next few months in self-isolation.
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