AdNews brings the stories of those working from home (WFH) in the advertising and media industry during the coronavirus crisis.
Garth Williamson is country manager at Shutterstock, Australia and New Zealand:
How do you deal with WFH?
Like everyone, it’s been an adjustment. My wife and I are lucky to work for progressively supportive companies so we’ve been WFH from very early on. We also have our 15-month-old daughter home full-time, as many other families have experienced in this new norm.
The novelty wore off pretty quickly as reality hit: sharing a room, sharing a desk, sharing the WiFi, having simultaneous and overlapping meetings, joining Zoom calls with the inappropriate virtual background you were using with your mates the night before, having your daughter mash the keyboard and watching your presentation disappear mid sentence, and remembering to shower each morning.
Zoom forward to today and we have separate offices and have our groove on. The juggling doesn’t stop but we’ve learned to coordinate our daily calendars (and adjust almost hourly), pivot quickly, aggressively prioritise and know that we are experiencing uncharted waters where, if you can’t do your best, you do the best you can.
The perks of working from home:
Hands down having the opportunity to spend more time with our daughter throughout the day. While challenging, she’s the best grounding rod around and helps put things in perspective.
My wife and tag team each other as one will attend meetings while the other is on Toddler duty, then we swap, and swap again.
These mini breaks from work let you step away and reflect, often resulting in an inspirational new idea or a more effective approach to a problem when you return to it.
From my team’s perspective, I’m very proud of how we’ve adapted so quickly to this new norm. Leveraging technology like Slack and Zoom to connect, collaborate and support each other, their positivity and flexibility are uplifting.
Paradoxically our distance has fostered closer relationships internally and externally. Shutterstock is focused on authentic, local content and unbeatable service so the level of empathy from my team during this crisis has been reassuring to so many customers as we work to be their creative partner and help them tell their story.
There is something wonderfully authentic in seeing snippets of everyone’s life beyond our professional realm that drives a deeper connection and richer conversations.
The downside:
Some things are harder than others, but these are the main downsides I’ve faced while WFH:
- The economic hardship some of our partners, contributors and customers have experienced
- Finding a work-life balance when both are at home
- The confusion around saying I’ll ‘skype’ you but then using Zoom
How are you using the commuting time saved?
Commuting is an incredibly important time. It helps to frame and ready your focus for the day and then serves as a transition out of work-mode into life-outside-of-work-mode on the way home.
As such I think it’s critical to take the time each day to help with this delineation. For me this involves modified COVID exercise, hanging out with my daughter for that extra half hour as well as negotiating our calendars for the day. My wife and I recently joined the bandwagon and purchased bikes with a baby seat attachment.
I try to take our daughter out for a ride each evening that serves as movement plus that conduit into personal and family time after work. My team starts each day with a Zoom catch-up, that focuses on light hearted moments and chats. This gives us that connection and banter each day that we miss as part of the commute and arriving at the office.
I am looking forward to being back in the office because…
We are a fun and creative team whose vibrant energy reflects both our brand and individuality so I’m looking forward to being physically around each other again. Oh, and that first celebratory drink with everyone, as we reflect on this time and experience, will be so, so sweet!
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