An Office Purist Adapts to Remote Work

When it came to office environments, I had always been a traditionalist. I entered the workforce in 1991, right out of college. It seemed so easy back then. Office hours were Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The office was your home away from home. 

Thirty-something years later, I no longer consider myself an office traditionalist. Looking back, I realize I had glimpsed the future in 2016. Years before the coronavirus pandemic and remote work, some team members surprised me by asking whether I would consider letting them work from home. I was incredulous, to say the least.

I couldn’t understand why people would want or need to work away from the office. How could it be done efficiently? I mean, how would it even work, to not be in the office five days a week, face-to-face?

Then came spring of 2020, when the pandemic took hold. Suddenly, the staff at talkStrategy, my San Antonio, Texas-based communications firm, was helping clients manage campaigns and brands while also having to figure out new work tools, processes, equipment (and emotions), practically overnight.