How have you adapted to working from home during lockdown?

Jonathan Carroll Director & Head of Property talks about how he has adapted during lockdown.

Where are you working from now?

Home, like most office workers, in my little office by the front door.  I’ve got a decent desk and chair, and there’s not too bad a view over the fields, really, with the lapwings flopping about.  Being able to walk out onto the garden in the sunshine is a lot more pleasant that eating a sandwich at your office desk, too.

What has been most difficult about working remotely?

Without doubt trying to manage the children/house at the same time as working.  My wife is a hospital doctor so I’m ‘it’ most of the time as far as the schooling, childcare, cooking, shopping, cleaning etc goes.  The two children in primary school are fairly easy to handle, but my 3 year-old needs a lot more attention.

Balancing that family demand with the need to keep working is a bit tricky.  I’ve had quite a few conference calls with a child on my lap, but people understand.  The ‘mute’ button has saved my blushes more than once!

What has been your biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge is keeping a team going when you can’t have a chat.  We’ve got to keep our staff motivated, keep those team relationships going, and get the work done for clients.  That’s a lot easier when you can get together every so often, even over the kettle, but technology is doing a pretty good job.

Is there anything (work wise) that you wish you had with you?

A decent scanner and some stamps!  We work with documents a lot, which usually get signed, dated and sent off somewhere.  At the moment I often need each document at home to work with but then it really needs to be in the office for copying and scanning.  There’ve been a few dead-of-night trips to the office to swap things over once my wife is home.

What has been the most helpful thing you’ve learned?

Firstly, that life can slow down without that being a bad thing.  Weekends at home in the garden with the kids have been really quite nice – it’s like 1983, but with wifi.  And you get a lot of washing done!

Secondly, that shaking things up now and again is not such a bad thing.  The truth is that most of our staff have managed really well in adapting to something new, which is a credit to them.  Taking people out of their usual ways of working can give a fresh perspective on life and I suspect that things will never be quite the same, perhaps in a good way.

What is the first thing you are going to do when you are out of lockdown?

I once spent 7 months in a tent in Iraq, with a little chart to tick off the days until R&R or until returning home for good.  I learned the danger of that mindset and in wishing your life away – keep your head down and drive past the line, not to it, or you can become frustrated.

That said, a coffee and a biscuit (and possibly a takeaway and a bottle of wine) with my parents is high on the list of things I miss.  The kids are missing both sets of grandparents and their friends, too.  Seeing another smiling face is important, and those of your loved-ones even more so …