Working from home: The pros and cons when office and home life merged in lockdown

It has been almost a full year since we went into lockdown for the first time due to COVID-19, and for some it has meant their homes have now become their workplaces.
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Lauren Parry, a project co-ordinator with Greener Kirkcaldy, is just one of many employees in the Fife area who has found herself getting used to a new way of working.

She leads the communication and engagement team of the the community-led charity and is responsible for Greener Kirkcaldy’s marketing.

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“I started working from home at the end of March 2020 when the first lockdown was announced,” she said. “I was really worried about it as I didn’t want to be on my own all day - I’m a people person.

Working from home has become a new way of life for many employeesWorking from home has become a new way of life for many employees
Working from home has become a new way of life for many employees

“It was a bit of a novelty to start with. I was on daily video calls with my work pals to keep in touch, and the weather helped too – we broke up the day with walks.”

There have been positive and negative aspects to working at home for Lauren.

She said: “I get more work done, and it’s good when you need to get your head down and concentrate. You can plan your own day – if it’s a nice day, you can work outside, cook lunch at home, do your washing – my dog has also enjoyed me being at home more.

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“I think working from home has also made me appreciate my colleagues and work friends more. As a team, we’re probably a bit closer as we’re constantly checking in on each other.

Stuart Duffy, founder of Pink Saltire, has found himself working from home during the COVID-19 pandemicStuart Duffy, founder of Pink Saltire, has found himself working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic
Stuart Duffy, founder of Pink Saltire, has found himself working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic

“But, I miss the office banter, just passing people in the corridor and being able to ask a quick question.

"Working at home in the winter definitely doesn’t have the same perks.

"I start to get a bit of cabin fever when I’ve been sat in the house too long. I definitely spend more time in front of a computer than I’d like. Working for a community organisation, I’m used to having a mix of events, meetings and computer based work, but now it’s mostly the latter.

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The thing I like best about my job is no one day is the same and I get to meet lots of different people. I miss that. I find it difficult to draw a line at the end of the working day and find it difficult to switch off in the evenings and at weekends since my house is also my work.”

Lauren Parry, project co-ordinator with Greener Kirkcaldy, has been forced to work from during the COVID-19 lockdownLauren Parry, project co-ordinator with Greener Kirkcaldy, has been forced to work from during the COVID-19 lockdown
Lauren Parry, project co-ordinator with Greener Kirkcaldy, has been forced to work from during the COVID-19 lockdown

Lauren would like to mix working from home and working in an office if and when the world gets back to some kind of normality.

Stuart Duffy has also had to adapt to the current times.

The founder of the charity Pink Saltire, Scotland’s community voice for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people of all age groups, he is normally based in The

Hive LGBT Centre in Kirkcaldy, but now finds himself working from home.

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He said: “When COVID-19 first started appearing on the news, we started to think about how to move to a remote-only setting and left our office from on Friday, March 13. I brought a PC home from the office that day and I’ve been set-up in what was my dining room ever since.”

Like Lauren, Stuart has experienced highs and lows while working from home.

"The novelty quickly wore off for me,” he admitted. “If I have a Zoom call downstairs then my partner can’t watch TV in the living room. Then there are all the interruptions for Amazon deliveries, or for dog walks, or maybe snack breaks, or folk asking you about that accident you didn’t have six years ago on your house phone.

"I think it makes us much less productive than being in an office environment. The biggest drawback has to be missing real life people to interact with in person and it can be a real struggle for your mental health.

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"For some there’s the added dimension of home not being a safe place to work or live and the longer the lockdown continues for those people, the worse the impact is.

“However, there has been so many opportunities to engage new audiences too. It’s quite exciting to think how our big events can evolve to capture both a digital and an in-person audience in the future.”

Stuart admitted he cannot wait for the restrictions to end.

He said: “I think there’s a place for home working, but lots of folk still miss being in a work environment with real people.”

According to recent figures compiled by price comparison website Confused.com, 65 per cent of UK workers – like Lauren and Stuart – have worked from home at some point during lockdown and this has resulted in some of them saving hundreds of pounds.

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The new study states employees who would normally take the train to work each day make the biggest savings while working from home, as the average commute costs them £136 per week.

Meanwhile, the average daily cost for a worker commuting by car was £16 per day, or £80 per week.

Louise O’Shea, Confused.com CEO, said: “It’s the time of year when we’re all taking a step back and looking at our finances to see how we can make better financial decisions going forward.

“We also want people to understand they can save even more. Anyone who is driving less, regardless of whether they’re working or not, should let their insurer know they won’t be driving as many miles this year – it could bring their insurance price down.

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"And people who are spending more time at home and have seen their energy bills increase should go online and look for another deal – you could save even more money.”

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