Let’s face it! Working from home is new for a lot of people, including myself. There are some pros and cons to this whole thing. The 20-second commute vs a 20-minute bumper to bumper drive is certainly a major pro of working from home. On the other hand, I also have a 6-month-old at home who likes to scream at the top of her lungs at what seems to always be at the best time. I am not sure I would call that a major con though, as I don’t know many dads that get to be around their young children this much.
In the office I knew how to be motivated, what was expected of me, and what it took to be successful. I enjoyed the comradery of my team, having them there for advice or opinions, and the interaction of the office building as a whole. The last thing I wanted was to be home for an unknown time period, and the thought of working from home was something I had hoped would be short lived! But after a week or so, and a little adjustment period, I found the things that I thought I needed are still possible, just in a different way. I can call or Zoom my team if needed, the comradery is still there and if anything, it might be stronger now. What’s that saying? Distance makes the heart grow fonder?
The biggest thing I personally had to tackle was my productivity and how I could still hit my expectations and achieve my goals in this new “work” setting. What I found out was that working by myself, I was able to get a routine down, buckle down, and tell myself I wasn’t moving until I finished the tasks at hand. Discipline. Working from home didn’t have to be different than being in the office aside from the social aspect. The work remained, business still had to be conducted, and as a team we still had goals to achieve.
Initially, I connected with my clients to have a conversation we likely wouldn’t have had without the current state of the world. Better understanding their needs, what they’re going through, and how I could help them. Every client and jobseeker has their own issues right now and if anything, being at home and more focused, allowed me to better help and assist them. The biggest thing working from home has allowed is flexibility. Often a phone call might only be possible before or after I’d typically be in the office, which would obviously be an issue from time to time. Working from home has really allowed the flexibility to accommodate clients and jobseekers to better fit their schedules if need be and that’s alright. I know I am connecting with jobseekers that I might not have if we were still in the office. I have learned to be more flexible and understanding for both clients and jobseekers and am thankful it happened, although it took a pandemic and working from home to see it.
So overall, the current working from home situation has shown me several things about myself. I can in fact do everything from a 10-year-old chair and one monitor that my cozy chair and multiple-monitor set-up in the office allowed me to do. I can still interact with the team, assist when needed, and be there to help when needed as well. But I learned I can be more flexible, I can adapt to better serve those clients and jobseekers that make AurStaff what it is and truly give us a better glimpse of how to be better when we get back to the office.
Josh Korth
Josh is from Columbus, NE and attended college at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Josh has been with AurStaff since June of 2018. In his spare time, he enjoys golfing, watching sports and spending time with his wife.
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