December 10th 2020

We spend so much of our time at work that it's important that we do something that will give us joy, something that will enable us to honour God and align us with the values of our faith.
Our work doesn't have to have direct link to the church for us to serve God and represent Christ.
If we work in a coffee shop or a bank, we might not consider our conduct to have any connection with our faith. But something as simple as genuinely inquiring about someone's day or taking extra time to deal with a customer's query can act as an exhibition of Christ-like love in a society where people are often so inward looking and busy to spare their time or thought.
The Bible teaches us that we will be rewarded for our hard work, that we should honour God in all that we do and that work can be something with spiritual purpose. After all, God worked to create life (Genesis 2:3), Jesus worked (John 5:16) and Adam was sent to work in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:15).
Of course, it's a lot easier to thank and honour God when we're doing a job that we enjoy, and when our colleagues and clients are pleasant and satisfied with the service that we provide. (Taken in part from Christaintoday.com)
 
But what happens when events cause all that we think is normal in our work life to change. Today’s feature is one that will be common to lots of people……WFH!

I have been WFH (working from home) since March 20th. At the time, I expected to out of the office for 6-7 months and arrived home with several boxes, the office plants and a lap top handed to me at the last moment!

At first there was the novelty, “The traffic on the stairs was awful……”, then the isolation.  I work in an office with four others and we really enjoy each others’ company and have supported each other through our daily difficulties.  Suddenly, my colleagues were only available by phone and quick questions could no longer be answered by popping down to the admin office. Things became easier as we moved onto Teams (similar to Zoom). 

I teach at Keele University . All of our modules were changing for the new academic year, which was daunting anyway, but having to plan these in isolation was very challenging. Then, to deliver these modules remotely, using technology that we had no experience of, made the challenge even greater.

At first, trying to do my 7 hours of work a day was difficult as all the family were home, and we have no spare room or even a desk in the house. I ended up at the kitchen table, my husband (also WFH) took the sofa in the living room, and our eldest son had the camping table in his bedroom. This was where he took his finals for his degree, completely separated from his classmates.

We settled into a routine and then the aches and pains began. Sitting for so long with a laptop causes shoulder and neck problems, so we had to make adjustments. I was able to borrow a work chair and use a washing up bowl as a foot rest. I raised my lap top on a couple of box files and bought a separate key board and mouse. This has helped. Then when my husband returned to his school teaching, my eldest returned to university to do a masters and my youngest resumed school, I had to adjust to being physically alone, although teaching my students remotely

So how have we all managed? We have constantly reminded ourselves how lucky we are to have jobs that can be done from home. Although some furlough would have been nice as our jobs have taken far more hours than usual and been more intense, we realise the devastating impact that uncertainty over employment can have! In the early days, I set up various video calls with groups of friends and that gave me the social contact I was missing.

​ Knowing that everyone, everywhere is having a difficult time has also kept our own difficulties in perspective. Keeping in contact with the church through the online masses and recordings has also helped me keep on going through the difficult times. Finally there is light at the end of the tunnel as the vaccine approaches! 

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