How Student Edge Handled Working from Home This Week

We’re taking it one day—and dozens of memes—at a time.

Last Friday, as the situation regarding the coronavirus pandemic rapidly evolved, Student Edge made a call: staff could start working from home immediately.

The decision was made swiftly, to enact social distancing and ensure staff welfare during this stressful time. Case in point, here’s what a typical email looked like last week:

The good news is that this was a situation we were uniquely equipped for. Student Edge, being a website, mostly exists online, and with staff across the country, we’re already used to video conferencing (internally and with our partners) and remote working. There was no problem in still delivering awesome stuff to our student members at all.

But within a few days, with each of us now in our own individual hubs, it dawned on us that things were truly different this time. Basically: we missed each other.

This will be a feeling familiar to any social butterflies adjusting to the new normal of self-isolation and social distancing. Though schools are still open (for now), there’ll be less to do on weeknights and weekends. And for those who can work from home, they’ll have to see the same four walls every day (make sure you take a walk every so often).

Even at Student Edge, where many of us are used to working from home on occasion, it’ll be an adjustment to not see our colleagues in person for a while.

Here’s how we handled it this week: with good humour, compassion and so many memes.

It all began with our heroic IT team enabling wider WFH access for all staff in record time, making sure everyone had the equipment they needed for the long haul.

Our podcasting duo of Caitlin Paroczai and Intan Badrun took advantage of an emptier office to record an essential Coronavirus update (and a TikTok too).

Eventually, once we were all at home and exclusively online, we made a point to start saying 'good morning' to one another on Microsoft Teams as soon as we logged on, just for a sense of normalcy. It was at this time that the GIF function was most appreciated.

One staff member, having just returned from holiday in New Zealand, began her 14 days of self-isolation without any of her stuff. So, two colleagues piled her chair and computer into a car and dropped it at her door.

Caitlin and our Member Benefits manager Bianca then recorded our first remote episode of the podcast. You can listen to both of this week's eps below.

We started compiling a playlist of self-isolation songs to enjoy from afar (which you can also now hear below).

And we even got philosophical:

And that was just week one.

We were productive, and we maintained high spirits, but of course, no one really knows how long this will last. That’s why, now more than ever—wherever you may be—we need to stay in contact, even digitally.

It’s gonna be tough for many, in ways they may not have even anticipated, but as long as we remain good to one another, keep the love and communication flowing, we can all make this work. Onto week two!