Working from home might stick forever!

If you were a man and were back to your teenage years and you had a girlfriend, you would visit her and stay for hours and hours with her, and do so every day you could, if it was every day better, and if it was twice a day, even better. You and your girlfriend were happy, but all the family members did not necessarily share that feeling. There was always the mother-in-law and her sudden sour face, the sister-in-law who was sometimes nice and other times was not, and the younger brother who was always playing and arriving at the wrong time in the living room. Does the story sound familiar?

When an invader arrives in the intimate spaces of the family, it generates some discomfort and confronts people with their realities, beliefs, and ability to self-regulate. If they do not regulate themselves, they can end up kicking out the son-in-law and ruining the day or the courtship of the daughter, and who knows what else. The story could be endless and have valid variants for each case.

Let me tell you something, your son-in-law left at some point or is going to leave; in any case, you are currently going through that situation. Either because he ends the relationship with your daughter or you marry her, you will not have to see him as much. A well-deserved rest for everyone. Surely it was not so pleasant for him to see all of you every day, or maybe it was, but there, everyone had their interests and handled the situation in the best way possible.

The big difference is that remote working will never go away, and it has also made your intimate spaces and moments uncomfortable in various aspects. Remote working confronts us with our family reality and the ability to adapt and self-regulate, just like that boyfriend. In addition, for those for whom going out to work was therapeutic, therapy is over.

Now, the house must welcome this intruder who has come to stay. Each house inhabitant is getting their respective dose of this new boyfriend. This new boyfriend brought everyone back home; there may be more than one intruder in your home. Will it be you? Yes, suddenly it's you, or your partner, or your son or daughter; in addition to remote working.

We are all being tested, and everything has a solution. There may be radical or incremental solutions. Returning home has increased the statistics for depression, insomnia, abuse, anxiety, divorce, and pregnancy. There is everything. In the US alone, the consumption of antidepressants increased by 600% last year. Remote working is directly related because of the additional hours we spend at home daily, 6 to 8 hours dedicated to work or study.

It is a fact that times have changed, in 2020 more than ever. That means that we all must also make a significant change or adaptation. The being, the knowledge, and the doing of each of us must adapt. And to be effective in remote working, the infrastructure, spaces, equipment, accessories, temperature, noise, independence, and interaction must also be adapted, to mention a few.

We know that it is a challenge for everyone. Claudia and I have received several requests to help company staff better manage this situation. The topics of particular interest are attitude, time management, technological tools such as software that facilitates it, or everything in general.

Remote work is not going to go away like the boyfriend. He is here to stay. Some say that companies that do not invest at least 10% in technology will be left behind; it could be a good comparison. How much are you investing in yourself to make this adjustment? For at least part of your time, how much are you investing? Be intentional and take advantage of many talks and videos, many of which are free and available online. We produced some of them in our Neuroshots program on IVOOX (only in Spanish). It is better to ride the tide than swim against it!