Looking back now on the events of March 2020, it’s hard to comprehend how businesses so quickly mobilised, in some cases, thousands of staff to be able to work from home in the space of only a few days as the Covid pandemic took hold.

It’s fair to say that most of us who got sent home from work with our laptops, perhaps a spare monitor and the offer of an office chair if we needed one, probably thought we’d be working at home for maybe a few weeks. Not many of us could have predicted that, more than 18 months on, homeworking would still be the norm for a lot of businesses. Now, with many organisations looking at hybrid working models, and some letting their office premises go completely, the landscape of how we work has changed dramatically. 

Whether you previously worked in an office as part of a team and now work primarily from home, or whether you were already based at home, perhaps running your own business but travelling to see clients or colleagues face to face, homeworking has been a big adjustment for most people. 

We wanted to take a look at the highs and lows of home working during the pandemic and explore some of the things we can all do to make sure that the highs are not outweighed by the lows.

The lack of time spent travelling to and from the office, or to meetings, is undoubtedly a big bonus for most of us. Many of the women we have spoken to have used that time to do more exercise, to take time out for mindfulness (or perhaps just an extra half hour in bed) or simply to stay a bit more on top of things in the home. Even before the Covid pandemic, working from home days were often known for being an opportunity to get some washing on at lunch time, or put something in the oven for dinner during the afternoon so as to make the evening a bit less frantic. 

A big downside, though, is the lack of demarcation between home and work. For a lot of people, the daily commute was a time to clear your head and get some distance from work before returning home, having let go of a lot of the day’s stresses, ready to spend time with family, partner or friends in the evening. Going straight from your desk to sitting down at the table with the family for dinner can mean you’re not in the right mindset to relax and switch off. And having the pressure of doing household chores hanging over you every day whilst working can be stressful, especially in the early days of the pandemic when the whole family was at home and needed feeding and watering throughout the day - several women we spoke to felt as if their sole existence revolved around preparing meals, clearing away plates and loading and unloading the dishwasher!

The ease of going from meeting to meeting when you can do every one of those meetings from your desk might seem like a bonus - no need to book a meeting room, to walk up or down multiple flights of stairs or even have to jump in the car to go to a meeting offsite. But most of the people we spoke to have found that their diaries are much fuller with meetings than they were before - and it can be very easy to sit at your desk for hours on end without a break. Doing this whilst having to concentrate on a multitude of different topics in various different calls and meetings can be exhausting if you do it every day. 

Homeschooling was another big challenge for many of the women we spoke with. Older children could work fairly independently, but those with younger families found themselves taking on what almost felt like another full-time job, having to supervise and guide schoolwork. Not everyone found that it fell solely to them to take on the homeschooling role, but there was definitely an expectation in many cases that it would be the woman that would do the bulk of the work. There was also the fight for table/desk space and the challenge of finding a quiet room to take part in video calls or just get your head down and do some work.

On a more positive note, seeing colleagues working from home has undoubtedly put more of a spotlight on the need for flexibility. Several of the women we have spoken with had enjoyed seeing very senior colleagues in their organisation taking part in video calls with unscheduled appearances from children and pets - it went a long way towards showing their human side and reminding us that everyone has to contend with the same challenges of balancing home and work life. And some of the working parents of very young children that we spoke to feel very grateful for the fact that they’ve been able to see some of their offspring’s key milestones that otherwise would have taken place at nursery - and now they can do drop offs and pick ups thanks to the ongoing flexibility offered by home working. Going forward, many businesses seem to be committing to flexible working arrangements for staff, having seen that it has benefited employees in terms of wellbeing and not been detrimental to the business. About time too! 

Isolation has been a challenge for a lot of people during homeworking. Even if you have a family around you, it’s natural to miss conversations with colleagues that would have taken place in the kitchen at work, making a drink or walking into the office. Social interactions became limited to those colleagues you actually had a work-related reason to speak to, rather than those you might just happen to bump into heating your lunch up in the microwave. And for people who live alone, it has been even more of a challenge to keep up social contacts - especially now a good 18 months into the pandemic, where any novelties of the situation have well and truly worn off. 

However much we enjoy our own company, it’s important to have the occasional social interaction and change of scenery.

Homeworking has certainly brought its fair share of challenges, even though there are some benefits too, not least the fact that flexible working seems to be well and truly here to stay for many people. 

Here are our tips for making sure that the positives don’t get overshadowed by the challenges.

1. Take regular breaks.

   This is even more important when working from home than in the office. And taking ten minutes away from your desk to load the dishwasher doesn’t count as a break! Go outside, even if it’s just into the garden for some fresh air and a change of scenery. Make a drink and sit down on the sofa for ten minutes to drink it. Or do some stretches or mindfulness exercises.
   

2. Manage your diary carefully
   
   Just because you’ve got space in your diary, it doesn’t mean it’s okay for it to be filled with a meeting. Otherwise, before you know it, you’ve spent 8 hours solid on Zoom. Make sure you block out time to focus on ‘head down’ work, and don’t be afraid to decline a meeting if the time doesn’t work for you or you’ve got a deadline to meet. Otherwise you’ll find yourself working into the evenings to catch up.
   

3. Make time for social catch ups
   
   Whether it’s taking five minutes at the beginning of a meeting to chat about how everyone’s weekend was, or putting in a lunch time chat or coffee catch up with someone you wouldn’t otherwise be speaking to, it’s really important to maintain social connections. Scheduling time out of the house to catch up with friends in person is important too: maybe plan a lunchtime walk with a homeworking friend who lives nearby.
   

4. Set ground rules at home
   
   Be really clear with those you live with about your availability when working from home. Just because you’re at home, it doesn’t mean you’re automatically available to answer the door, provide meals or help with homework. Set some ground rules and encourage everyone else in the household to do the same. It’s a good way of making sure that the time you do spend together when everyone’s finished work for the day is quality time.
   

5. Find your support network
   
   A support network is important at any time, but never more so than now. Finding people that you can turn to when things are getting tough - either because of isolation or general work challenges - really helps to get through difficult times. It could be a like-minded colleague, a group of friends or a network outside of your usual circle. Don’t be afraid to reach out if you need help or are finding something more challenging than usual - you’ll generally find that you’re not alone.

The Nonpareil Network is a supporting network for women in the second half of their careers, whether in the corporate world or running their own businesses. If you’d like to join us and meet like-minded women who are committed to supporting each other, celebrating success and helping when things are challenging, you can sign up here to find out about our upcoming events.  Our first event is scheduled for January and we would love it for you to join us. 

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Written by Hannah Poulton

Co-founder of Nonpareil Network.

Hannah is a portfolio Marketing Director. She is also a Non Executive Director for the Welsh Cycling Union and a Lay Member for the British Chiropractic Council. She also volunteers as a Magistrate and is a Lay Member for NHS Blood and Transplant.