Washington, D.C. resident Joseph Sprott was just
two days into a new marketing job when the
office went fully remote, which he said makes
it harder to “ingratiate oneself ” with the new
manager and team.
“Now a simple ‘Come check this out’ is a three-
person conference call,” he said.
In the Netherlands, a team of data scientists
led by Jeroen Baas was already used to
communicating remotely with overseas
colleagues. But vacating their Amsterdam office
to limit the spread of the virus presented new
challenges, so Baas started a 15-minute virtual
water cooler session to try to restore some of
the casual banter lost when his colleagues aren’t
physically present.
“It gives some time and space to talk about work
or take your mind off other things, or maybe
rant about what’s going on with the virus spread
and people hoarding things,” he said.
Darling, the MIT researcher, said she is worried
about more serious problems as the work-
from-home period continues for weeks or
more and researchers don’t have access to their
laboratories and other important tools. As more
schools and childcare centers stay closed, she
said, remote work will get more disruptive.
Her toddler has been watching the TV show
“Daniel Tiger” on repeat. “Otherwise we wouldn’t
get anything done,” she said.
It’s harder for Catharine Bouchard, who works
for a bank in Ontario and isn’t always able to
balance working and taking care of two young
children, ages 4 and 10. “I cannot focus on work
and am anxious as ’F’” she said.