A more nuanced work-life balance
The new work life
What we are going through is a black swan event. Each one of us has been impacted and I am no exception. Both our personal and work lives have been disrupted in a way no one could’ve predicted. My style of working has always been direct. For example, if there’s a resolution needed or something to be done, I quickly get all relevant people into a room and set the ball rolling, which isn’t possible now. Meeting clients personally, which has always been a priority, has also been shelved. I have been using virtual meetings and calls extensively to overcome this shortcoming, but banking is essentially a business underwritten by relationships — something that is more difficult with remote working. Work-life balance is more nuanced now; working from home blurs boundaries between home and office. However, I deal with it by planning my day more closely, particularly video conferences and calls. The good thing is that it’s making one more versatile and adaptable.
Homebound, and how
Spending time with family has always been a great way for me to unwind and of course being at home gives you that added time even though you might not be actively engaging, given the usually busy work-days.
On my personal well-being, I’ve been more regular with my yoga and meditation sessions. It’s helping me anchor myself better to manage both home and office.
The lesson
We can’t predict the future, but we need to price in extreme eventualities and situations: being “future fit” is more about doing things today than waiting for a tomorrow to unfold and then start reacting. We have demonstrated to ourselves how tall we can rise and respond: there are millions of examples of sheer bravery and perseverance across people and professions. The pandemic is forcing us to acknowledge that women have what it takes to rise to the occasion and are proving more adept at managing work-life balance. As organisations successfully adopt work from home, this might provide women, who used to drop out of their jobs for family responsibilities, the opportunity to retain their careers and sustainably manage their work-life balance.