Post Lockdown Musings from our Staff

The nationwide lockdown during Covid-19 Alert Levels 3 and 4 certainly had a big impact on our lives, our business, the way it operates, the interactions we have with our colleagues and valued clients, and its overall fiscal management. However, it has also highlighted a number of positives along with some new tools and ways to undertake our day to day business moving forward.

We asked four of our staff to reflect on the last couple of months and their reflections provide some interesting food for thought moving forward.

I feel like the transition back to "the office" will be more difficult than the transition from "out of the office". Having a workday being clearly defined between two commutes will initially feel a bit bizarre... I'm already missing the extra hour of work that most of us accidentally acquired by being only a 10 second walk from our offices. Somewhere between the "old normal" and the "new normal" probably lies a "sustainable normal" that businesses will be endeavouring to find as we work our way out of this situation.

Karl Timmins

Civil Engineer – Tauranga

Reflecting on a roller coaster 8 weeks as we returned to the office in readiness for Level 2. Great to see our team in person and thank them for their hard work over this period. It has highlighted how adaptable and resilient we all are. I have enjoyed the added flexibility to spend time with my young family but will also appreciate having two less “personal assistants” back in the office. Now that we are back in the office, I plan to continue with many of the learnings from the last 8 weeks. Less commuting, more zoom meetings, less paper, more digital and improved work life balance. Let’s do this.

Matt Powdrell

Surveyor – Te Puke

After the initial rush of moving into lockdown and settling into a routine it was good to be able to focus on the basics; spending time with the family, work and long overdue property maintenance. We are lucky to have somewhere to live where there is space and plenty to do. Going back to working from the office has quickly become ‘normal’ again, but with an added appreciation for still having work and being able to drop the kids off to school. Apart from moving to online meetings, I found that during the lockdown communications were often more personal, realising that everyone has a life outside of work.

Elles Pearse-Danker

Geotechnical Engineer - Tauranga

Wow, what a surreal time the last 8 weeks or so have been. From working away happily in the office, to then packing up your work life and setting it up at home and operating your day to day work via Teams/Zoom in your slippers, to back in the office again with collared shirts on! Although personally the work/life juggle was difficult at times with a working wife and school children learning from home, I believe there was a real positive social spinoff. This came in the form of the flexibility to spend quality time with the family where enjoying life was as simple as a family walk, bike ride or a board game. I look forward to being able to continue this in future and find the happy medium of a work/life balance.

Brett Farquhar

Planner – Rotorua

How did working from home work for you and your business?