Virtual - My Experience Going Virtual
The transition to virtual work is not always smooth, especially for a virtual magician. But in this article—we'll discuss some of the possible pitfalls, common experiences (based on my own personal virtual work transition experience), and many of the positives, as well.
It’s a bizarre feeling to be sitting in your bedroom, typing on a keyboard and staring into your laptop at the same time. You feel disconnected from the world around you, but at the same time more connected than ever. And that sense that this is all unreal somehow makes it easier to do things like read dozens of articles for hours straight or complete an online college course that you forgot you signed up for six months ago.
For me, going virtual means being able to work whenever and wherever I want without any consequences.
You’re only limited by your virtual imagination.
I think the most important thing to understand about life as a virtual mentalist is that it’s not just about computers anymore. It’s about being able to do your work anywhere and any time you want with the minimum of tools and distractions. The last month has been an incredible success in this respect, with me being able to keep up my usual freelance writing schedule, deal with regular client meetings and reply to email without having to leave the house. My only real expense is internet connectivity, which I can still get for free at my parents’ house.
Not having to commute (and not having to wear pants) are just amazing advantages of being a virtual worker. But the biggest surprise for me is that I haven’t really missed working in an office at all. I spent over five years working full-time in offices crammed full of people, so you would think that it would be hard to adjust to a silent lifestyle again. But in reality it’s been the complete opposite, with me being able to get more time than ever to myself and devoting it entirely to my tasks.
It also saves you money.
First of all, you don’t have to have a car anymore (which can be a huge expense in most cities). It’s also much cheaper to rent an apartment or stay at home if you need to do that. You save on gas, insurance, parking tickets and taxes for a car. Some people even report saving huge amounts of transportation money by riding their bikes to work instead of driving (especially if they were stuck in traffic during their commutes).
But the real savings come from not having to pay for lunches and snacks anymore. Paying for meals out can get pretty pricey at an office, so many people bring their own food anyway to avoid spending too much on food during the day. As for snacks, most people would get snacks from the office kitchen. Nowadays I’m probably getting more food value than I ever did at the office.
You’re happier!
I used to own a bicycle, which I enjoyed cycling around in my free time. After coming back to Canada from Chile I sold it for a car. I thought it would be so much better to just go straight home from work without having to put on my cycling gear and go out of my way in the morning. But now I’m riding my bike again, which is just amazing. It does take me about half an hour longer than driving a car, but it’s totally worth that time as soon as I get home, especially if it doesn’t rain.
And this is not going well with me either.
Seriously guys, you are doing awesome! You’re going virtual without any concerns and taking advantage of how awesome you have this new way of getting your work done. I’m sure there are some things that you’d like to find out, but don’t hesitate dear reader.
Studies show that businesses that are prepared to operate virtually, for however long the virus persists, will have the greatest current, long-term success. And isn't that what we all really want?
A little over a year ago, my company moved into what had been a massive $8 Million IT-advanced development project. This new building was fully equipped with all sorts of innovative and intuitive tech-forward equipment.
The desks were adjustable to allow a person to stand fully (regardless of height) or adjust their desk to the ergonomically correct sitting posture. Additionally, there were soundproof focus rooms that could be reserved anytime throughout the day for one-on-one meetings, solo focus time, or to make private phone calls.
The windows and blinds, themselves, automatically adjust based on the level of natural sunlight. The building was also equipped with a full gym and trainer, a Starbucks, several food court-style restaurants, outdoor seating, a full clinic for employees, automatic and customizable water dispensers equipped with flavors and sparkling water, as well.
This new building had been carefully designed with plenty of space for collaboration and interactions among our peers, virtual teams, departments, and beyond.
Prior to the move to the new virtual spot – every employee was given a laptop. At night, some managers and supervisors and a few other base-level employees were taking their laptops home fairly regularly. At that time, some people had asked if working from home might be a possibility.
At that time, people were told that the laptops were provided mainly in times of inclement weather that might prevent people from safely navigating to the office building.
These laptops would enable virtual work from home, when necessary for every employee, across the board. We had no idea, at that time, how valuable this capability would be.
The employees moved from the old building to the new building in phases, according to our floors. Each week, a new group would experience orientation, which showcased all of the exciting virtual features. The next week, that group would move into the building and get accustomed to the novel experience.
Additionally, we all had teams to assist with any IT issues, building functionality issues, directions, etc. The virtual move was carefully planned and executed very well. Before long, every employee had transitioned to the new building and experiencing its benefits – at least until March 13th.
Prior to this infamous day, the Communications team had been sending frequent updates regarding Covid-19. Executives were uncertain what was to come, but made it a top priority to be transparent and keep us informed.
On Friday, March 13th 2020, the entire department was called together for an unprecedented floor-wide meeting where we huddled together and listened eagerly as they announced that today would be the last day that many of us would be working at the office. While working virtually from home wasn't to be mandated, it was strongly recommended.
There were a few varied responses from co-workers – many were elated. People who had young children at home or those who had an extra long commute were among those who celebrated that day. They were relieved to not have to shell out money for gas, to not have to spend an hour getting ready and/or driving to work, and to not have to arrange childcare in an increasingly difficult environment to do so. Others, like myself, were a bit concerned – questions like the following ran through my mind:
How long will this virtual experience last?
A majority of my social interactions were done at work and I knew I'd miss connecting with other people. There was talk that it might last for a couple of weeks, and then, designated groups would alternate going into the office, every other day.
How will this virtual experience impact my and my team's productivity?
I wondered if we'd be able to focus and stay on task with a different set of distractions when doing a virtual meeting.
How will this impact team communication?
Sometimes it's difficult to communicate efficiently and effectively, even when teammates are working in the same building. I considered whether I would still be able to communicate effectively with my team and get answers to questions when I need them.
Will my virtual equipment work at home?
All employees were urged to print off copies that detailed how to connect to the Virtual Privacy Network, but things could go wrong and I wondered what would happen if IT was flooded with calls and unavailable to help in a timely manner.
Will I be able to separate work life from home life?
My job can be pretty intense at times and I worried about not having the outlet of discussing frustrations, etc. with co-workers. Additionally, my commute is approximately 30 minutes long, which for me, has often been a great time for reflection and decompression. I recognized that I wouldn't have that time to process and wondered what that might be like and if I was prepared for that.
A global pandemic, however, waits for no one to be prepared. It just happens when it wants and this one was happening despite my concerns and fears about a virtual work-from-home environment vs. our beautiful tech-filled office space.
That day, the employees packed up their laptops, phone headsets, cables, and any other office supplies might be needed for the duration of the lockdown. The employees had the weekend to prepare for virtual work before the following Monday and it was recommended that they check for connectivity or equipment issues, etc. prior to the start of their shift that Monday.
All employee laptops had been equipped with Zoom before the move to the new building, but this software was rarely used prior to the pandemic. My team, in particular, scheduled a daily mandatory meeting for people to connect, ask questions, and communicate in a virtual setting to make up for the fact that the team was not gathering, in person.
When this began, the daily virtual Zoom meetings were – to be honest – a little annoying and inconvenient. But as time went on, and our team and company experienced furlough and people were slowly called back to work, still, remotely – the virtual meetings proved to be extremely helpful in terms of team-building and keeping the team feeling connected.
Prior to Covid-19 and lockdown forcing everyone home – our team used a few applications and software options to stay connected virtually. Skype for Business was and is still frequently used by my team for text-based communication, phone calls, and video calls.
However, Skype will be phased out by the Summer of 2021, at which point, Microsoft Teams will assume the position. My team currently uses Microsoft Teams to communicate important information and share files. Occasionally, Microsoft Teams will be used for messaging, but familiarity may be an issue when it comes to that platform simply because it's newer than Skype.
My department also utilizes Slack for company-wide (department-pertinent) communication. Individuals at various locations will use the Slack platform to post virtual updates and ask questions.
While Slack has been around longer than Microsoft's communication and collaboration hub, Teams – it lacks the virtual integration capabilities of Microsoft and therefore, is not used as frequently as its newer counterpart.
The most commonly used virtual tool (for my team) is Zoom. As mentioned above, management schedules daily virtual meetings for the team to improve connection, collaboration, and teamwork.
Additionally, the Executive team schedules large group virtual Q&As for the entire company through Zoom where participants are muted, but questions can be asked virtually via the internal messaging within the Zoom chat.
Virtual teammates are also encouraged to collaborate virtually with each other and schedule impromptu collaboration virtual meetings to ask each other questions, offer support, and complete group projects.
Although, my concerns about working remotely were valid; thus far, with the help of virtual tools – working from home has been a great experience. I'm able to be productive (perhaps even more so than working in the office).
Additionally, thanks to virtual tech products like Zoom, Webex, Skype, Teams, and Slack — that enable videoconferencing, virtual video chat, and document sharing – my team can communicate and operate effectively and efficiently while working virtually, which is all any business in the midst of a pandemic could ever ask for.
