It is hard to believe but a year ago we did know words like COVID and bubbles and the acronym WFH was very much on the edge of our vision. Now, working from home is a necessity and everything about the way we do business has had to evolve. Humans are, among other things, inventive. The changes to the way we work have forced developers to act fast. Apps are changing at a rapid rate to solve the pain points that come from not being able to gather in the office or other workplace.
Rather than focus on the negatives of the pandemic on the way that we work, here we focus on the ingenuity of the human spirit. We will explore how apps are adapting to help us succeed while we sit in our PJs.
Table of Contents
Virtual meetings
The first change to our working life is that we cannot meet in person. In some ways this barrier to endless meetings is a blessing. There is a chance, a small one at least, that when people arrange for you all to speak in person that there is a genuine need for that face-to-face. Also, if it is a pointless meeting, you can mute and turn the video off and just listen – getting on with other tasks while people whitter on in the background.
Zoom has seen a massive uptake in its business, as has Webex and Microsoft Teams. Video conferencing software is the most essential app for companies now. The more reliable the options and the more features that come along with these apps, such as screen sharing and chat functionality, the better. If you are looking for free, unlimited web-based meetings, then you might want to check out 8×8 Video Meetings instead.
If you want to coordinate work-based projects without having to video conference, then apps such as Slack and Trello are awesome tools for allocating and tracking projects. A lot of the entry-level packages to such apps are free, as well as being available on your iPhone so you do not have to be tied to your laptop or desktop the whole time you are at home.
Productivity
To be fair, before the pandemic, productivity was heading to the cloud. The idea of siloed data was already an issue under review by most companies. Therefore, the move to online working using a virtual productivity suite – such as G-Suite and Microsoft 365 – was already on the cards.
As part of the response to COVID-19, Google allowed premium access to Hangout Meets for G Suite customers. The bonus here is that you can record and save meetings to your Google Drive for those unable to attend or instead of recording the minutes in a document.
Not to be outdone, Microsoft made Team available to free for anyone with a 365 subscription. They also offer an Office 365 E1 Trial to employees wanting to work on web-based office apps, as well as using the business services such as file sharing, storage, email, instant messaging, data location controls and much more. Anyone who has activated a trial previously can do so again in the time of COVID.
Keeping retail going
The retail sector has been hit the hardest by the pandemic. Non-essential shops have been asked to close for months on end and there looks like there will be more such lockdowns to come. Therefore, the opportunity to sell online and gain traction as an eCommerce shop is the only viable option for some hoping to stay afloat.
LuxLock is a shopping platform that is currently waiving license fees so you can sell online and avoid those distressing redundancies.
There are other options for selling your products online. If you are a small outlet selling crafted goods, seek out Etsy. Equally, Shoppify has a huge online community of store owners, where individuals and businesses have continued to thrive through the lockdown. While no one wants to see the high street die off, it was already massively under threat from the online shopping phenomena. Therefore, if we are looking for a silver-lining, it is easy to see that this time has forced many to migrate online and build the eCommerce outlet that will be essential for future prosperity.
Away from the computer
Before we get carried away by this brave new world of tech and working from home, it is fair to note some of the more worrying consequences of lockdown. First, human beings are social creatures and we need interaction with others and the lack of such contact can be damaging for our mental health.
Second, the boundary between work and home is now completely blurred. You will need more discipline than ever before to have some personal time. Being completely immersed in work while in your home-office is fine – but you need to be able to leave and lock the door. It might be a metaphorical lock, such as switching off your work emails at 6pm each evening and turning the notification ping to silent. Whatever way you can keep some of your time for you, it needs to happen to maintain a positive sense of mental wellbeing.
