AdNews brings the stories of those working from home (WFH) in the advertising and media industry during the coronavirus crisis.
Remi Couzelas is head of planning at 303 MullenLowe:
How do you deal with the silence?
Silence happens after 8.30pm. Once my wife and I have stopped discussing the pros and cons of Skype, Zoom, Messenger, Teams and Facetime. It is also at that time that my daughter has finally retired to her private wing also known as her bedroom which has dramatically extended to EVERY available room. We live in a relatively small space and it teaches us to be mindful of one another and give everyone enough "room"’ for work conversations, client meetings, school check-ins, agency catch-ups, playtime and of course friends and family chit-chats.
The good?
My wife and my daughter absolutely love spending so much time with me. As a craft project they have recreated a profile picture of me with a target attached to it. You also get more of a behind the scenes view (not in a creepy way) of your work colleague’s lives and sometimes get to talk about things that might not have come up in an office. The current situation may help us to open up a little more. I think the ongoing requests for video meetings are also forcing us to be more focused and effective in the way we communicate, we have to be more aware of people’s time.
The bad?
Can I watch the iPad? No
Can I watch TV? No
Can I watch your phone? No
Can I watch the ‘puter?
Well we are social animals and nothing will ever replace a good old face-to-face meeting. It is when you can’t have one anymore that you realise how important these everyday (big or small) interactions really are and how central they are to the way an agency operates.
Tips for making WFH work?
Limit the amount of conference calls and not all conversations have to be an hour long. Oh and get out when and if you can (but follow the rules).
I am looking forward to getting back to the office because …
I am yet to meet most of my colleagues and for those I have met we only know each other through a screen. This is a weird time to start a new role and I’m looking forward to the Friday drinks trolley when we are back in the office!
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