People moan about Lockdown quite a bit. Those more moronic of the populous believe that being told to stay at home is tantamount to torture with lazy comparisons drawn to current and previous genocidal regimes. I acknowledge I’m probably in a silent demographic that relishes time locked down; I don’t have kids, my bosses are empathic and reasonable fellas plus I like spending time with my partner. Side note, we’ve recently downloaded the Crash Bandicoot trilogy; perfectly timing a jump while evading a hog/boulder has replaced opening a difficult jar in terms of chivalry/manliness. I think people are thinking a bit short-term. I understand 70 odd days is a fair bit of porridge but to put it into context; the Big Brother winner is locked up for 85 days. Considering a third of Aucklanders openly admit to not even following the rules is lockdown really that bad? As we’ve been given a slight indication as to when we could be back to the office, I’m retrospectively looking back on things I’m going to miss.
No Commute
I come from a small island that doesn’t have a train network so I can’t lie, I still buzz off getting the train to work. It is however a hassle compared to not having to travel to work at all. Not to mention the money saved from neither topping up petrol tank or Hop card.
Money Saved
On that note, you save heaps by staying at home! Especially in those early days when there were no takeaways! I can’t speak for Welly or ChCh but here in Auckland you’re hard pushed to find a decent lunch option that isn’t 14 bucks. I’ve also saved a small bounty from not going to the pub, contrary to popular slander I do buy a round once in a while.
Flexibility
On both fronts; yours and your candidate base. I’m working with some candidates at the moment in ChCh and Welly and I’m hitting voicemails? The longest you’re waiting for a call back in lockdown is the length of a Teams meeting. Also, doing some work at 10 pm now doesn’t seem like an ask when theoretically, you’re still in the office. Although we’re not experiencing the freedom of movement the flexibility of when to work has never been better.
Autonomy
Going along with the flexibility, you’ve had to be self-motivated during this lockdown. Unlike the last one we had; this one has had heaps of jobs to work! Every consultant I know has been super busy and making money. I would not be surprised if this lockdown ignites an entrepreneurial spirit in some recruiters. It must’ve crossed minds; what am I doing now that I couldn’t do on my own?
Home
We always hear that you spend more time with the people you work with than your family, not this year! Surely this is a good thing? Spending time with kids, flatties, pets, etc should galvanize your reason why you do what you do. Also, I can’t be the only one who’s done some much-needed stuff around the house? I invested in a Window Vac which has sparked my obsession with clarity of glass and when Plant Barn opens, I’m going hard on some shrubs.
We’ll be back in the office soon and then before you know it borders will be open. When proceeding generations in years to come search ‘Covid 19’ from within the Metaverse, radicalized Karen’s and Ken’s won’t be indexed ranting about lack of hair cuts or access to baches on their ‘freedom’ marches. Countries’ responses will be judged on death count and while some nations are living in relative normality currently, it’s off the back of some serious loss of life. At that point, I think those lazy comparisons to tyrannical dictators will be more relevant then. Stay safe NZ and enjoy what little time unattended and unkempt we have left.
