In March of 2020, we witnessed a sweeping change take place across the globe. Dining room tables were suddenly cleared of candle sticks and decorative placemats, instead replaced with computer monitors and extension cords. Overnight, kitchen tables and spare rooms were converted into makeshift classrooms and playrooms, as nurseries, schools, and universities around the world closed their doors. With the advent of COVID-19, much of the world’s population was forced to stay at home. For the first time ever, we saw newscasters reporting from their sitting rooms and we started meeting with doctors over Skype. For months, we barely left our houses, venturing outside only to acquire food and essential goods. Who could have predicted how dramatically the world would change in a few short weeks?
But unlike the “novel” Coronavirus, working from home is not a new concept. In fact, since the invention of the Internet, people have been working from home and telecommuting to jobs all over the world. Nowhere is this truer than at TRUST, where approximately 50% of our staff work remotely at any given time. Remote work is something that I am personally familiar with. I started my journey with TRUST as a remote social media intern, while I was finishing my master’s degree in London. I then continued working for TRUST as a project officer in Istanbul. Although I was geographically in the same country, I worked out of a partner’s office, which meant I was still technically a remote staff member. In January of 2020, I moved back to the United States, but continued my work with TRUST part-time. Not only was I still remote, but now I had a massive time difference to combat as well.
My 18-month journey with TRUST has been entirely remote, relying on Slack, Skype, Zoom, Microsoft, and WhatsApp to keep in touch with my colleagues and supervisors. The lesson many people are learning now, is something that us remote workers of yesteryear have already learned: Remote work is hard! Working in the same place you eat, sleep, and relax can feel oppressive. Especially for those of us living with family members and children, it may feel like a daily battle to complete the simplest of tasks. Remote work also requires discipline and dedication. It is much easier to ignore an email when your boss is 5,000 miles away, than when you are sitting next to them in an office.
But the benefits of remote work are not to be ignored. With remote work comes the flexibility to set hours that are more conducive to your own schedule. Some people cannot function before 10:00 AM, whereas others (like me!) work best at the crack of dawn. Remote work enables us to spend more time with our families (for better or worse), or our furry friends. Plus, think of all the money we save on petrol, the metro, the bus, or a taxi, now that we are not commuting to work every day!
In all likelihood, once the immediate threat of COVID-19 has passed, we will see the trend of working from home continue rather than dissipate. Already major U.S companies including Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, and Twitter, have hinted that their employees may work from home indefinitely. Telecommunication platforms such as Zoom and Skype have thrived in the face of pandemic, while the demand for virtual office space is growing. Virtual office providers allow companies and organizations to design an office space online, complete with virtual conference rooms, virtual meeting rooms, and independent virtual offices. Employees create their own avatars that walk around the office and interact with their colleagues. Is this the future we can expect to work in?
While it is impossible to predict what the next ten years will look like, maybe it is possible to look to TRUST’s experience ongoing experience with remote work as a model. Before the 2020 lockdowns and quarantines started, TRUST already had a strong framework in place for staff to work remotely on a temporary, semi-permanent, or permanent basis. Having these procedures and communication channels in place made the transition to office-wide remote work fairly painless. As we move into a post-COVID-19 world, TRUST continues to maintain its office space in Gaziantep, but with more than 10 remote staff members and a flexible remote-work policy. Perhaps this model, a small central office with flexible telework options, is a more realistic model of the future we are headed for? While it is too soon to be certain, one thing is for sure: remote work is not new, and it is not temporary.
About the Author: Gabriella Reimer is the Media and Publicity Coordinator at TRUST and has been working with TCD for a year and a half. She holds an MSc in International Development Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and she is currently based in Washington D.C., USA with her personal assistant, Ravioli the Wonder Cat.
