Working from Home vs Working from the Office

Hi, my name is Aubrey, and I am the marketing assistant at Planful. I have had the opportunity to be a part of Planful’s team since last May. I emphasize the word “team.” A few weeks ago, when we were informed that’d we be working from home, at first it sounded cool. I thought about how relaxing it would be to work in my comfy clothes for a week and then be back in the office. Sadly, that week has turned into weeks. Waking up and being able to sip on my coffee while working from home wore off after about the third day. COVID-19 has rattled the world and changed everyone’s definition of normal, we have all had to adjust to a new norm. Planful is very fortunate and has still been able to operate during these trying times. However, that doesn’t mean things haven’t changed for all of us.

I miss our weekly Monday morning meetings, which consisted of the checking in on where we were on projects, sharing any ideas or asking any questions. The best part was simply going over how our weekends were.  Now those meetings are conducted through UberConference. We follow the same structure, but it isn’t quite the same as being in person.

Planful’s office is bright and warm all in one. It’s like this hidden gem in Indiana. I miss being able to look out and see all the buzz on Philadelphia Street from our office. My new office is my bedroom. I look out the windows and see cornfields. I’d like to say that I have made the best of working from home. Sure, there’s been trial and error, but that’s helped me learn.  I set up my desk from college and made a designated space for me to work. I recommend to anyone who has to work from home to do this. Even if it means rearranging things, it has helped me feel like I’m actually at work and not just at home.

Our boss, Sarah, has really been there for her employees during this time. She makes sure that we are doing well and have access to resources to keep us all on the same page. One of the best resources she has us use is Asana, an online task manager. This is an extremely beneficial tool where we can see what everyone has on their agenda and it allows us to assign tasks to one another.

Working from home clearly has its pros and cons. Pros being flexibility, working from the comfort of your own home and did I mention sweatpants? To me, those pros are heavily out weighted by the cons. The cons being that I miss my work family, I don’t quite stop thinking about work, even when I’m done for the day, and I’ve had to adjust to a new routine. With anything, there’s a silver lining. My silver lining when working from home is gaining an even bigger appreciation for being a part of Planful’s team.