Have we not had enough WFH tips yet?
Once upon a time (about three months ago) work didn’t feel like a weird video game that we all play together for 7.5 hours every day. We used to commute to offices, wear real life clothes, and have real time conversations without a 3-second delay.
These days, things are looking very different. As we’ve all been adapting to the new reality of working from our spare rooms, kitchen tables, sofas, hallway corners, or gardens, we seem to have developed – spontaneously, mysteriously –an insatiable collective appetite for WFH advice content.
How else can I explain my inbox lately? WFH tips from blogs I follow, WFH tips from my bank, WFH tips from my pet insurance, from influencers, from LinkedIn, from the Nigerian prince who just needs you to confirm your bank details real quick.
Everyone and their mother have a bit of WFH wisdom to share – and yet, I feel like we haven’t had enough WFH tips because some important voices in the conversation have been left out.
So here are some WFH tips from the people who actually have to put up with you working from home.
Remember all those pre-Covid grumbles and complaints about being the only one who works so hard in the office while everyone else is out the door at 5.30? Chances are they can see right though it all now that they’ve caught you watching New Girl while ‘working’, and post-lunch power napping. Next time you’re stuck in a 2-hour Zoom of Doom? No sympathy for you, amigo.
Your kids have a pretty simple view of the world, and they are probably right. What even is the point of you working if you can’t fill the screen with pretty shapes and colours for them to look at? Why aren’t they allowed to sing ‘Let it go’ when you and your work friends are talking? They’ve given this a lot of thought and they really think it’s best for everyone that you should quit your job forever.
Cuthbert, a 7-year old black tabby from East Lothian says: “You may be content with working from the kitchen stool in a dark and shabby room with the heating off. But some of us have standards. So, please. Find a bright and sunny corner in your home, grab a comfortable soft, cushiony, bouncy seat, make sure your laptop’s nice and warm and let me... just... plop... myself... right there, that’s great, hope you weren’t doing anything import§§§§§§§§§§§279733==========”.
They’ve had enough of that. Can’t you just stick to #throwback holiday spam and pictures of you baking sourdough like everyone else?
Clear your browser history before sharing your screen. Mute your mic if your dog is barking. And please don’t sit with your back to the light, unless you actually are in a witness protection programme.