What's working like for you?
Tuesday, 12 May 2020
The coronavirus lockdown has changed the way we work individually, with our own teams and with other teams at the University. Whether we are working from home or are working on the campus, each of us is adapting in our own way to these changed circumstances. Every Tuesday and Thursday, we will share the experience of some of our colleagues.
Laura Byrne is an Executive Support Administrator in the Department for Meteorology. She provides admin support to Meteorology staff in the Lyle building.
We asked Laura how the lockdown had affected her work:
“The admin team work together on many of our jobs we do so it has definitely been strange, and very quiet, working on my own. I’m very used to talking with colleagues and being able to ask questions and we’ve had to move this interaction to meetings on teams. Within The department we are hosting virtual coffee mornings which is a big help. I personally don’t have to juggle childcare with work but several of my colleagues do and everyone is really tolerant of each other’s needs and different limitations. I think team spirit is as good as it always has been.
“Most of my work is office based so the biggest challenge was the physically setting up a workspace at home, especially having recently moved house and initially not having a table or Wi-Fi. I have worked from home on odd days before this but previously had a preference for working in the office. Now I can appreciate more the benefits it can bring, I might be more inclined to work from home in the future. It’s definitely made me more disciplined in taking regular breaks from the screen, for example by using ideas from ‘All Together April’ on the JUMP app or doing some desk yoga.
“But I do miss being with my colleagues and on campus with all the wildlife! Fortunately I’ve been able to carry on coming to the Secret Garden to water plants and look after the plots. I’ve also been visiting virtual zoos and keeping up to date with what’s happening in my department via our blogs. Mostly, I’d say across the team we have found solutions to any problems and we have found many positives about our current working situation.”
To enable as many people as possible to share their experience the Internal Communications team has developed a storyboard, so if you’d like to take part, contact the Internal Communications team and a member of the team will guide you through the process. These will form a series of articles on what new ways of working have been like for colleagues as well as offering practical advice, hints and tips on how to manage this.