The 'work from home' dynamic and possible future

Fifth Harmony's "Work from home" may have been funny at the beginning of the pandemic and even played purely to dance to, but around two years since China announced the as yet unnamed appearance of covid-19, formerly known as the "Wuhan virus", many, many people are over working from home and lockdowns.

I myself have only worked from home for one calendar month since January 2020 and I think that was because the government, and by extension my employer, weren't completely sure of covid's properties then. After we were back in office there was a large cluster so us working from home definitely wasn't related to case numbers. So I'm lucky.

We also had a strong typhoon while we were working from home but of course we didn't get paid extra because we didn't need to travel.

For the almost negligible amount of time I worked from home, I enjoyed it. Also, everything I needed was in close proximity. My job is one I leave at the office door too, which I think helps in this pandemic where the professional and personal life lines have blurred for many.

I don't think working from home purely as something that has come about from the pandemic will pick up for some jobs. Why? In-person is tangible and builds better relationships and overall health for all parties. In any case, the employer will want regular in-person check-ins. Humans by and large are traditional and in this case that means they have been working mostly in-person for years, it's familiar.

Technology can fail. It can fail in-office too but then you're less likely to get distracted in-office while you wait for it to be fixed than at home.

Ideally, I think many people who have sufficient experience working from home due to the pandemic would agree a separate room for work is preferable. And one per employed person. Which then means you might need to rent/buy a place with one or two rooms specifically to work. And one spare room for isolation purposes. Which not everyone can afford and indicates possibly what needs to be done on a general population level and for the general population going forward. Do we need living spaces with home offices for each person and a room for isolation purposes? If yes, that is new buildings governments have to build for people to live in.

An interesting note: being single and/or alone often seems to be something to be sad about if you're the subject and/or the subject should be pitied. Not being romantically involved and/or living alone seems to be the safest way to live right now to avoid catching covid-19 at home if you don't live with family/flatmates/a friend(s). I mean if you happen to not be romantically involved and/or happen to live alone. And if you feel safe being around strangers and do meet someone from a romantic point of view, it may be easier to go out to eat, the movies etc. as less people is preferable.

Covid-19 has had negative and positive impacts on all relationships.

One 'positive' I see is because it is a pandemic, millions of people have a general collective experience they can understand; and hopefully learn about cleanliness, the importance of the healthcare sector, the importance of teaching etc. SARS impacted Hong Kong the most; Ebola in 2014 Sierra Leone, mad cow disease in the UK (I think). Covid-19 is a connection millions have to varying degrees, but many from different places will be able to talk about mask-wearing, travel restrictions, vaccines etc.

Bisous.

- A.M.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1... 2022.

2022 has started.

Did anyone else notice the New Year was over the weekend, like Christmas was?

First of all, I want to say THANK YOU to the frontline workers for fighting covid-19, you deserve a well-earned break and for those who worked and are still working over this holiday period, I thought of you. Your lives have been impacted and there is not much you can do about it. Many people forget you have husbands/wives/partners/girlfriends/boyfriends/significant others, children, brothers/sisters, parents, friends. You need to cook and eat and do the dishes, sleep, shower/bath, do the laundry, clean your house etc. Then maybe, maybe you have time to 'relax', but I doubt you can fully turn off.

I bet if you were given a paid month off, you could sleep for a week. You have no respite: every day you are mentally in overdrive, depending on your job, seeing death, sick people, scared people, and you can't reassure them, you can't even pat them on the shoulder if you wanted to. "We'll do our best" is all you can really say. You're at risk of catching covid and passing it on to your colleagues and loved ones. Those in health, especially nurses, midwives, orderlies etc. are overworked and underpaid and there are never enough of them, without covid. Doctors are in with you this time, but are probably still paid more.

You are some of the strongest people throughout this pandemic. Parents are some of the strongest people in non-pandemic times but frontline workers who are parents, I salute you. And if you're a frontline worker who is a single parent, you are amazing. You may not fully realize how strong you are but I assure you you are.

Has anyone made any resolutions? What kind? Why? Why not?

I didn't get my shit together in time for the 1st of January 2022 so I don't have as many resolutions as last year but maybe if I do get my shit together, they'll just be goals I work towards otherwise you defeat the point. I failed my 2020 New Year's Resolutions.

I suppose one big question is: will we be able to move more freely for a consistent amount of time? And will we be able to travel to another state and/or country more freely without wondering if we'll get infected with covid and/or stuck?

For me, we have just had scanning in become mandatory in certain locations, but no proof of vaccination needs to be presented as far as I know. We cannot travel overseas, but otherwise we can pretty much go about our lives without restrictions domestically. So that I think will probably stay the same. Flying I think will still be impacted, at least until the end of June 2022 if not longer. No place has opened up fully to all other places successfully and stayed as such. Small islands also rely on others such as the Cook Islands relying on New Zealand and/or Australia to open.

Another note to those who do not want to accept/believe it: vaccination reduces the effects of covid-19 but you can still be infected, regardless of the variant. Why? I can only speak for Oxford-AstraZeneca, but it could be the case for Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna too: it was designed to reduce illness and death not protect you from covid-19 like a typical vaccine. Don't like it? Don't like the uncertainty? Not much you can do about it. Accepting you cannot always control every aspect of your life might actually be better for your mental health. Yes, covid is on a totally different level, but the concept is the same. Welcome to life: it is unfair, it is sexist, it is racist, you can't always have what you want, corruption is everywhere. You find a way, you achieve what you want your way, you get your happiness your way.

I don't see the point in saying Happy New Year. Instead I will say: Stay safe and healthy. Or if I'm pushed: have a healthy and safe New Year.

- A.M.

Mon histoire d'amour

I have to say I love the French and France: cheese, pastries, language, chocolate, films, culture, music, Paris and that je ne sais quoi. That is a lot and I really mean it for the je ne sais quoi. I can sometimes pick out someone who is French and I can't really explain why: their 'aura', walk, way they hold themselves, that chicness that only the French have which is why they are so fabulous at fashion. They also teach you philosophy in the last year of secondary school which shows a willingness to discuss. Yes, students then have to sit an exam, but my point is it's the discussion.

French films are also not Hollywood films and are comfortable with open endings, complicated endings etc., not the typical happy ending or ending that points towards hope. If there's a sequel in a Hollywood movie, maybe the ending won't be happy, it will be open or a cliffhanger, but that is different. French films also show life, reality, not a polished view where many female characters have perfect make-up and/or hair. French films are so much better than that Hollywood shit. Independent American films are closer to what French films are.

Paris is beautiful in my opinion. It has architecture, greenery with trees and their jardins, and culture is an intrinsic part of it, be it the people on roller blades, the métro, the living art, the smoking etc. It's all part of Paris.

France also have grandes écoles, a term and concept that can't really be translated. It's for super 'smart' students and there's an entrance exam hundreds of students sit. Practically all the French Politicians went to l'ENA. It's the representation of the French educational ethos: at school, marks are given out of 20 and the closer you get, the better it is and the better chances of not being unemployed. I think students in the French Education system are still some of the most stressed in the World according to reliable sources.

I have not met one French person say they speak English well. The education system breaks their confidence so even if you tell them their English is great they don't believe you. I have not met one French person who has bad English.

One last thing which I think is great. Voters for presidential candidates don't care about the candidates' personal lives: it's like "oh, really?" "Ok".

Au revoir.

- A.M.