Work from home diary: 'It makes you trust each other more'

Though, this is a new concept for us to work from home, personally I think, it’s an evolution of working system in Bangladesh.

 

On a normal basis we commute of office, indulge in a time-bound regular job, manage to multi-task at office, holding internal meetings over endless cups of tea or coffee, pitching, client meeting bla bla bla.

 

Amidst this pandemic, who thought the concept of WFH will give us a paradigm shift. I know few people who have been working from home long before this hit us with a proper set up.

 

Technology has become very integral part of our life at this point of time. That’s why, we took the courage to get into WFH mode with mental readiness for our respected clients. When I heard about it, yes it was novel for me, but I was damn excited to execute this concept.

 

After being shut down officially in Bangladesh 25 March, now it’s day 14.

 

My day starts with skimming through global news portals to get updated on the current pandemic situation of course, and then, in generally, I get updated on advertising trends in local and global context for a couple of hours of the day. This coincides with my first cup of tea of the day.

 

Simultaneously, I prepare my 'daily job list'. Then, I get into action. We connect with every team member across every department of the agency. Then, it's about calling the client, which has been an intrinsic part of my life. 

 

I have observed that the mental readiness of the team in week one, was quite okay. 

 

Going forward, this running week has been comparatively engaging due to previous week’s follow up with our existing client base. We gave a single creative design to each of our active client for their Facebook page and it really worked like a magic. One of our clients who I know from ages, liked and thanked our proactive thoughts of giving creative designs voluntarily in these dire moments. By doing so, they have given a new job brief in return. That’s the real beauty of client-agency relationships.

 

Further, I have developed skills across household chores like mopping, home cleaning, washing clothes, dishes and a little bit of cooking of course. Truly we have molded ourselves in an evolution of new working system because humankind is born to adapt any condition on earth.

 

Lastly, I’ve realised that it actually does make you trust each other more and people show up their responsibility, seriously. Having said this, trust me, I do miss my trendy agency work environment and of course my coffee’O’clock.

 

The author is vice president, key brand portfolio management and growth leadership, Macomm (Bangladesh).