WFH: the humble acronym abruptly thrust into our everyday parlance when we were banished from our cubicles as COVID-19 took hold.
At first, there was an ever-mounting sense of panic, as we felt like cretins trying to log on to video chats, grappling with the mute button while barking at the kids and pets to shut up, accidentally sharing pictures of ourselves cosplaying as Baby Yoda to our Zoom meetings instead of sharing important documents (just me?)
Here’s me enjoying my work-life balance.
It was unknown etiquette terrain for a population where previously only about 3 per cent of workers had worked from home. Cameras on or off in meetings? Do we still frock up? Do we risk leaving laptops unattended, camera off, to dash to the dunny or whip up a toasted sandwich while listening to an online presentation?
But within months we were logging in wearing tracky dacks and pyjamas while gobbling down cereal, enjoying the work-life balance nobody saw coming. Schoolkids weren’t found wandering the streets waiting for parents late for pick-up. Fast fashion tides slowed because we needed fewer clothes for work. We adapted and embraced the hybrid model.
Post-COVID, people want to keep that flexibility only to be assaulted by a new acronym: RTO (Return to the........