The past few months have made us adapt to a new way of working. Luckily with the opportunity to work-from-home, many of us have found additional time to spend with our families, reflect on simple pleasures and value the moments we used to take for granted.
This International Day of Families, we asked our employees what stood out the most to them and here’s what they had to say:
To Rashika Malhotra, the new lifestyle presents an opportunity to seek and maintain balance in her life:
Take time to be involved in small activities around the house. Enjoy your meals together. Plan an evening activity or a movie together. Create a fitness routine with your family – it helps to stay balanced. One key learning from COVID-19 is not to take freedom for granted and curb the urge to be a consumerist.
Mukesh Nekkanti is grateful he can now spend more time with his child which has led to insights he treasures:
It’s been five years since my daughter was born and I couldn’t spend quality time with her due to work and a busy life. This lockdown gave me time to observe her, understand her needs and answer her questions without getting irritated. My key learning from COVID-19 is to have patience and accept change.
Janki Ajani has found creative ways to cope which includes cooking meals together with her spouse:
The initial one week of work from home was chaos without the gym, swimming pool and my cook. I also missed my office chair and comfort. But now, I do yoga by 8 am, have a healthy breakfast and cook with my master chef husband. With the ‘Pomodoro Technique’, work and life are just perfect.
Parveen Rafi has found more inner strength and feels blessed to be able to have more time for her family:
Lockdown has made me resilient and I strongly believe that change only is constant. I would humbly request you and your loved ones to stay safe and home and make good use of this time. This is the good time to spend with your loved ones and understand them. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Societe Generale for being very supportive and caring for us.
Prem Santosh now ensures he spends time with his mother, wife and children while finding a way to manage work well:
No commute and less time needed to get ready to work has helped me plan and manage my work well. I now have no backlogs carried over to the next day. The best part of this lockdown is that I am having breakfast with mom, chai break with my spouse and lunch break with my kids (something that I’ve missed over the years)
While life may never be truly perfect, we find ways to adapt to changes. It’s often that our families help us find the silver lining in an otherwise cloudy day!
Happy International Day of Families!