One day you are getting on with life, working in an office, talking to colleagues and drinking your body weight in coffee. Then all of a sudden you are packing up your computer to take home and work there for the unforeseeable future. Yes reader, unlike nine million fellow workers I was not furloughed. Zoom and Teams meetings have now become both mine and others way to communicate (in some cases including getting sacked!) and IF you are lucky you are confined to the four walls of a room in your house. Coronavirus has literally taken over the world!*

*Most of the world, some of our team in Germany are going to Spain on holiday for two weeks tomorrow! Life is really getting back to normal for them.

What does that mean for you?

Does that mean juggling looking after your child whilst trying to send that email that should have taken 10 minutes but in reality, it took you 2 hours?

Trying to force yourself, after eight weeks, to set an alarm and avoid the new walk of shame of crawling to your computer at 9am directly from bed?

Being super optimistic and take advantage of all the free courses and resources the open university have online to help you develop?

Or sitting on the sofa and watching TV and eating popcorn all day?

Luckily for me, I can confine myself to my bedroom the entire day with *very little* disturbance. I say *very little* because I have a Jack Russell called Ted, who is lovely. Well, more so the time that he isn’t barking VERY LOUDLY because he heard a car door slam outside. Or the Post Lady coming through the gate, and then also exiting. Or my Dad, who was not furloughed, coming home from work. But other than that, he keeps me great company and sits by my side waiting mostly patiently for me to say the magic word “walkies Ted”. At least I have some amusement by watching my colleagues on Zoom suddenly recoil when he barks!

Twitter has taken the opportunity to determine if working from home is more efficient and realising that it is is. It has asked its staff to continue once the COVID-19 lockdown has lifted. However, this would not be possible for all organisations, especially for the millions of people working in retail, and the arts, it is heartbreaking to see how they are suffering.

While all along, our great NHS has been battling the war with COVID-19. They are our most essential workers, caring for the people of this country and ensuring they are fit to leave home with good health. Including the Prime Minister.

It isn’t just the NHS though, they deserve huge praise and huge credit, but those working in supermarkets, delivery delivers, amazon and warehouse workers, carers, food production, care home staff and millions of others are the heroes too. I hope that when we come away from this awful pandemic we will realise just how much they mean to our day to day lives and next time they need our help we will stand with them.

Both I and the entire team at Alternatum all over the UK and in Germany wish you all the best and we are as always at your service.