First Day at (Home) Work
I started a new job at an advertising agency while quarantined during this COVID-19 pandemic.
I wore sweatpants with my sweater while my killer first-day-in-the-office outfit hung in the closet. I had to bring my own donuts but couldn’t do that because I can’t go get donuts, so I made a pancake. My first day lunch was with my husband, who was also working from home. The only fun orientation materials I put on my desk were my own notebook and half-filled coffee mug.
I’d say it was a typical first week, but it wasn’t. It was an excellent first week of work that taught some valuable lessons. We must learn all we can while we absorb this dramatic shift in work, relationships and connecting. Here’s what I absorbed amid this incredible opportunity:
1. Face-to-face doesn’t mean you’re learning more about a person nor is it the only way to read someone. I met my co-workers in my video chat channels this week as I on-boarded. And, I also got to meet their dogs, their kids, their internet connection and their decorating. While we met by scheduled video chat, no one popped into the office — our video channel — to disrupt us. We had to make eye contact (as soon as we figured out the cameras) and really talk to each other because we were captives to the small radius of our screens. There was a definite “in the trenches” vibe that turned the meet-and-greet phase into instant collaboration, a little like Survivor: Office Edition.
2. The ferocious energy of pitches and collaborative work still exists online. Advertisers are social beasts and nothing better represents our chaos than the pitch. I got pulled into a pitch the weekend before my first day and it was the most engaging first week experience I’ve ever had at an agency job. Instead of late nights in a conference room, pizza boxes skewed everywhere and post-its stuck all over walls, we were gathered online. Same late nights, but huddled at home office desks, multiple tabs open and screens shared. We took breaks to let dogs out and watched each other on video as we lost steam late into the night. It had the same fervor and netted the same great ideas. The presentation was just as smart and just as on time.
3. Care and culture look different online. I joined a company significantly smaller than my last and more engaged in the cultural well being of its employees. We met online for happy hour, people asking what others were drinking, raising beers into webcams and celebrating week’s end. The CEO noticed one co-worker staged at her coffee table with her laptop and immediately asked if that was her normal work set-up. He talked ergonomics, taking breaks and even getting her chair from the office if needed — just don’t hurt yourself working from home.
We said hi to a couple of children and a couple of cats and asked what movies were on repeat. We had a group lunch Thursday with all faces in two screens of Zoom windows. The question was “which local eatery did you support when you ordered your lunch delivery today?” Such an important question when much of our city is shut down and food service workers and businesses are so devastated. The combination of our agency community prioritizing our local community was something easier to see and talk about in this online gathering than maybe it would have been if we’d just been at the office in line for catered eats. It was better than a donation box, a service day or a corporate sponsorship. It made us all responsible social actors, called to tangible service beyond just our client work.
I’m one of few people who get the benefit of being first to navigate this quarantined on-boarding. But I won’t be the last. We’re amid a major change in our culture and everything from shaking hands to first-day lunch are transforming. We can do this. Even better, it might make us even better at what we do.
