I work primarily as a Team Leader in the corporate sector and secondarily as a freelance counsellor.
This pandemic has taken away the in-person social connections. The time frame of work has also extended beyond the 8 hours of a normal workday.
Sudden power failure and slow broadband connections give rise to discontinuation of workflow.
While counselling I missed the direct face to face observation and body gestures. In online counselling, the network distractions impact the session causing disturbances like minimal voice sound, system hanging and background noise.
Before the pandemic, at the office, we would go for a casual chat break with colleagues. There was a sharing of knowledge between us and clarifications.
Now, my workday is sitting in a closed room alone and working without any socialisation. Even for a small doubt I have to call and share my screen. A work which would last for only a few seconds, now gets extended into several minutes.
This atmosphere has become a livelihood and we have adapted to this situation.
In these stressful times, I listened to mild instrumental music and songs. I included exercises in my routine and spoke to friends via mobile at 2- or 3-hours intervals, which stabilised my emotions.
P K Vikram
July 2022
