It began as a joke. We had to stay at home and perform from there, without visiting company’s headquarters at all. Monday morning and after having breakfast, I am sitting in front of my laptop, having transformed kitchen table into office desk.
First thing, I check VPN connectivity and accessibility to systems, tools and applications. All work fine. I also make a trial conference to be sure that I will be available in remote meetings. I prioritize my tasks and I am eager to start executing some queued batch files but wait, where’s my coffee?
I prepare filter coffee, double quantity than usual. Then, I make a couple of calls to my colleagues and I try to relate. It is dangerous to be outside, they say, but they are also afraid of the extended stay at home with kids. Lockdown changes everything. No school, no grandparents to assist, no kinder gardens. We discuss project deliverables and I hear their offspring shouting in the background. It makes me laugh and I imagine myself in the same position. Sometime in the future.
The first day in quarantine I keep the eight-hour work. I send an emoticon to my teammates, a virtual goodbye, and then I switch off my laptop. I end up in front of the television reflecting the day and waiting for the medical announcement of the Ministry of Health.
insightful 