2020 has been bizarre to say the very least!
Companies now have work days that look very different due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. For amshot employees, not only did we have to modify our own work environments, but we had to help our clients reshape their day-to-day business needs to a more technology-based norm, setting up VPNs and streamlining their current processes for the transition from office to home.
Reflect with me on the last 6 months:
March 12th 2020
NBA player Rudy Gobert tests positive for COVID-19 right here in OKC, sending shock waves through the city. We all feel some degree of panic as we have no idea the impact this novel virus will have on our city and our country in the days to follow.
March 16th 2020
amshot employees begin working from home while also helping our clients set up their own at-home environments.
March 16th 2020
March 24th 2020
Governor Stitt orders all non-essential businesses in the 19 Oklahoma counties with confirmed cases to close for 21 days.
March 28th 2020
A Shelter in Place order is issued. WE HOARD TOILET PAPER!
March 28th 2020
April & May 2020
We hibernate in our homes to try and slow the spread of the virus. The shortage of toilet paper is VERY REAL!!
June 2020
We open the country back up – too early? Some say yes, some say no.
June 2020
July & August 2020
Covid cases rise to new heights! We try to find ways to keep our businesses from collapse while we social distance, wear masks, and keep our hands clean.
September 2020
Oklahoma students head back to school – some virtuallly, some in person. amshot parents face the very real struggle of balancing their at-home work with their children’s Zoom classes and online learning.
September 2020
Here we are mid October 2020. Most of us are still working from home, occasionally popping in to the office.
Here is what some of our amshot employees have to say about their WFH experiences:
Work from home culture has heavily impacted my life- some good and some bad. I save money since I’m eating at home more. The biggest pro is the added flexibility with my life. I often need repairs to my home so I get to be present for that instead of taking time off or missing important meetings. The con of working from home is the lack of social interaction I became accustomed to being at work. Being around in-person office conversations helps keep me in the loop on changes in the organization and gives me the opportunity to add valuable input. That’s what I miss about working from the office.
Working from home was something I was already doing prior to the pandemic. I’d expressed my desire to bossman, Michael, mainly because of the commute, and secondly because I can work from anywhere, why not home? It makes me happy. So we agreed, Tuesdays and Thursdays would be my WFH days.
Now I work from home full time! The biggest advantage is the money I’ve saved – gas and eating out, less wear and tear on my car. Also I am 100% less likely to have another scary accident on the highway. Another advantage is I am also more focused at home because I have no distractions – empty nester. I also like the flexibility of schedule. The biggest disadvantage I’ve faced is being too sedentary. At work I have a flight of stairs to go up and down several times a day. I have a stand up desk and a balance board. At home, there’s an all too comfy couch to fade into. Another con is missing the lovely faces of my co-workers and conversations with them. At least we have Microsoft Teams!
I was a full-time remote employee with a previous company for seven years, and by the time that was over, I was craving social interaction, which is what I miss the most. Nothing replacing being able to grab a group of people, hole up in a conference room and brainstorm a client solution. Transitioning back into the at-home environment has been difficult, and I often wonder how I ever did it in the first place. The distractions from home are never ending, whether it be my daughter insisting that I have to answer her questions RIGHT THIS MINUTE or seeing my adorable dogs all cuddled up on the couch and wanting to join them. (Let’s not even address the always-dirty kitchen of the fact that my husband is also at home full time.) Add to that the fact that I had only been working at amshot for four weeks when this all began, and had just started getting to know my new co-workers, and you have a not-ideal situation. It’s been amazing watching how we have come together as a company, though, to ensure that our work, as well as that of our client’s, isn’t disrupted any more than absolutely necessary. Thank goodness this is all happening in the age of technology! Can you even imagine if this were the 80’s? I honestly don’t even want to think about it.
