Life of an Auditor: Work from Home

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3 years ago

I am extremely thankful that since the community quarantine was implemented, we have been working from home. There are times that we had to go on fieldwork or client premises but those are rare and I could just count them with my hands. 

A lot has been changed since I started working from home, my routine, work ethic and even my productivity. So for today, I’d like to share the major changes in my life when I transitioned into a work from home set up. 


Productivity

I don’t know about you but I’m really having a hard time knowing how productive you are when you are in a work from home set up.

Before, when you just go to the office and have a meeting or a status update, it feels productive. But now, even though you have back to back meetings to align everyone else’s vision in a certain work, it feels like you’re not accomplishing anything and your to-do lists keep piling up. 

We used to have physical activity before so it kinda gives us a feeling that we are tired and that we have done something for that day, even though we just went to the office and didn’t do as much. Now, we rarely do physical activities, we just take a few steps to our desk, poof! You’re at work and without the physical strain that we experience before, it makes us feel as if we aren’t accomplishing enough, even though you have no more pending items in your to-do list.

Coffee

This might surprise you but before, I try my best to avoid coffee. I used to drink hot tea a lot but everything changed when the pandemic hit. Procaffeinating has been my thing, I swear I can’t do anything without having that sip of coffee. 

A usual view of my messy desk.

Coffee has been my signal in going to work. Before you do that act of literally going to work but now I feel like coffee has been my metaphor in going to work, that if I start drinking coffee, I need focus because spiritually I’m at work. 

I also tried tons of coffee recipes that I do on my own and tried a lot of restaurants and coffee shops too. I fell in love with coffee during the pandemic and I now understand why people are fond of it.

Routine

There had been a massive change in my routine ever since the pandemic began. The major change would be that I don’t have a routine anymore. Sounds silly, right?

For most people, they started building routines when they started working from home because it can really support flexible working hours and most of the companies just wanted output delivered on time, regardless of what time you work and how long you do it. 

But lately, I’m having a hard time getting a routine for myself because some superiors think that since we’re all working at home, you can be available anytime, which I think, is not a good culture.

Sometimes, scratch that! Most times, I am forced to work outside my office hours and do nothing during my original working hours because of this flexible arrangement, so I recently accepted that I would never have a good routine for this pandemic.

Work-Life balance

I also noticed how difficult it is to have a work life balance in this set-up, probably because we associate our home and the outside world, with life and the office space, with work. Without both of this visual cues, it’s hard to change mindset of which is which. 

Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash

It is really hard when you’re working and suddenly something comes up at your house or they’re all cooking something and you’re working, it’s hard to just work when you feel like you’re missing out on something. We can’t also avoid working even though it’s beyond our working time because of the deliverables and deadlines. 

It’s really hard to change mindset on what to think about and what to prioritize when in this set up. 

Focus

Is it just me or I’ve been having a hard time focusing on anything? Whether it’s reading a book, accomplishing a task at work or just watching a movie. I’m really having a hard time achieving a high and longer level of focus like I used to do. I don’t know if this is because of the work from home set up but I just can’t seem to focus lately. 

Virtual Hugs

Octy usually accompany me when going to work lately.

The thing that I really miss the most is hugging people and probably saying good morning to everyone in the office. I usually start with our security staffs and talk for a while with them, then I head out and talk to our maintenance staff while I make myself a cup of tea. After that my teammates will start coming in one by one and I’m able to greet them all a good morning and give them a hug just because I want to. 

Unlike now, it feels weird when you just suddenly pops out in their chat and say good morning out of nowhere. Sometimes I do this but it just hits differently when I do this in the office.


This work from home set up has been both a blessing and a challenge for most of us  and I know soon it will evolve. We’re all still under the early stage of it. It’s actually predicted that most of the companies would adopt this kind of set up as there are tons of benefits from it. 

Until then, let’s slowly pave our way through all of these hurdles. 

See you around!

Lead image: Photo by Wouter on Unsplash


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3 years ago

Comments

i can sense how heavy things you are doing right now. awww, pandemic really did change many things. different fields was never the same than it before. but i'm here to remind you ate that everything will be fine, it will fall in theright place at once. don't forget to breathe— inhale, exhale. i don't know if this will kinda lift your mood kasi nakakadami ka na pero sige "ang pretty mo ms. auditor and kaya mo yan" hkHAHAHJAJAHAHAHAHAHA don't lose focus on the advantages this pandemic gave to you:) usad!

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Ang naintindihan ko lang sa sinabi mo is I’m pretty 😂 charrr 🤣

But yeah, things are quite tough, especially for an extrovert like me to be locked in my room, surviving and trying to find diff coping mechanisms day by day. ✨ Thank youuuu ❤️❤️❤️

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3 years ago

Loving that octy of yours. :)

Anyhow, I envy and admire those working from home equally. As you said, work-life balance, it's hard to maintain that when you are working from home, where do you draw that invisible line? I worked from home and I can say that I would prefer that with our current situation, but when everything is normal, I'd rather go to an office that to be cooped up in the house still working. I'm not one to take my work home so it's a huge adjustment.

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3 years ago

Octy has helped me a lot this pandemic plus he’s super cute tooooooo 🥰

Me too, I’m dreading to go back to the office! And I don’t take work at home too, so I really can’t draw the line between work and personal life Anyway, thanks for the upvote and the sponsorship, gladly appreciated 🥰

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3 years ago

Isn't he the toy that you can turn inside out and it will change color and expression?

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3 years ago

Yep, I put him on angry mode when I don’t have motivation and lots to do. It helps a lot I feel like someone is forcing me to work but most of the time he is the cute and smiley one, just like meeee. Hehe

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3 years ago

Eheheh that is so nice. Like a little companion that's pretty thoughtful and aware of your mood. Haha

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3 years ago

Someone used to the daily grind of reporting to work outside the home really have a difficult time transitioning to a WFH setup. It takes an inordinate amount of discipline to be able to say working at home approximates the office or outside the home work setup. And some people just aren't built to stay at home and do the work there. The only plus because we're in PH and Manila, is not having to waste so much time for the commute and exposure to all kinds of pollutants.

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3 years ago

Yeah and I’m thankful coz in our company, we’re kinda technologically advanced because it’s our requirement to keep up with global setting but to think of those na di nag-iinvest sa technology yung company. They might really be having a hard time 😣

Plus, expected po na lagi kang available kasi nasa bahay ka langn naman 🥺

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3 years ago

That's the disadvantage of working from home, which is also unfair. Perhaps if the employer requires workers to render service during regular work hours, then the bargain is that you cannot be called in anytime.

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3 years ago