Pick of the podcasts

The Solo Collective Spotify, Apple Podcasts

It’s called working from home but for many of us the last year has felt more like living at work.

Where once office life used to be about sitting at a desk for eight hours, yawning over a photocopier and gossiping about how Geoff in sales was getting a bit close to Linda on the IT team, things have changed.

This year means many workers are now lounging about in their pyjamas until the threat of a Zoom call with the boss looms. Working from home is, to use some pandemic lingo, the new normal.

Luckily there’s a podcast for those whose living room has become their workspace; it’s a 12-part series hosted by author Rebecca Seal, above, called The Solo Collective.

She’s the bestselling author of Solo – How To Work Alone And Not Lose Your Mind which sold out in the UK, underlining how keenly some of us are feeling about trying to adapt to our front rooms also becoming the place where you awkwardly explain to your boss why you haven’t hit your targets that month while the cat licks your ear.

It’s no real surprise that 80% of Brits feel working at home has negatively impacted their mental health due to not being in the same space as their colleagues. Rebecca speaks to experts and well-known solo workers to find the secret to thriving while working alone.

Guests include Dr Laurie Santos, host of The Happiness Lab podcast which was featured in this column last year, Emma Gannon (host of Ctrl-alt-delete podcast) and Alex Soojung-kim Pang (author of Shorter).

The Solo Collective helpfully covers topics such as how to work better and get more rest; overcoming self-sabotage; staying positive when working solo; burnout; experiencing the pandemic alone and how to work at home with partners.