Chloe the dog from the UK architecture team.As we all face up to the challenge of COVID-19, those among us fortunate to be able to continue working from home will have been doing so for the past two weeks and this is likely to continue for some time. One consequence of the need to stay at home is a lot of us probably have a full house meaning we’re bound to encounter a few interruptions from time to time. However, despite the occasional barking dog or crying baby, there are plenty of benefits that it can bring.
My job generally requires a lot of travel so it’s great to know that I have the trust and freedom to offset this travel by working from home. During the week I tend to balance my time between travel, the office and my home. Usually for me it's three days in one of the offices and two days at home so being home constantly is a bit of a new challenge for me too. I’ve decided that remembering the benefits of this arrangement is something that helps and below are my five main takeaways (not the food delivery kind):
- Being within my home environment enables me to take better care of myself which leads to improvements in wellbeing as well as a reduction in my stress. It also means I can fit a bit of exercise into my routine if I want to.
- Working from home helps with productivity. I really enjoy not having to commute to the office every day and the opportunity to focus on my work due to fewer interruptions is very welcome.
- There are also financial benefits – I’m saving money by not commuting. For those who don’t take a packed lunch each day, then there will be savings there too.
- For a lot of us that are currently able to do our jobs from home this gives us the opportunity to spend more time with our families. This will especially benefit working parents and may also support individuals with disabilities.
- Finally, for me there is the environmental benefit of not driving a car to work or to the station all the time. Since the social distancing started, pollution has lowered, and Venice’s canals are clearer than ever. Individually you may think you are making a small impact but multiplied across large organisations such as Mott MacDonald, it can really make a difference.
We all need to believe that together we will get through this crisis by personally taking actions to reduce the spread of infections. However, when everything becomes a bit more normal again, I would encourage you to explore continuing to work from home further with your employer. If they are not open to the idea, then please get in touch and we may have an opportunity for you here at Mott MacDonald. Thanks for taking the time to read this post and we hope you found it useful.
Daniel Harris
Head of talent acquisition, UK and Europe
