Covid-19 and Working From Home

Man in business suit and wearing a headset is in front of a computer screen showing 9 people in a remote meeting.

Covid-19, otherwise known as SARS CoV-2, is wreaking havoc across our world. Discovered as a ‘viral pneumonia’ in  Wuhan, China, on December 31, 2019, Covid-19 is responsible for roughly 16,523,815 confirmed cases and approximately 655,112 deaths across the world in the last six months (World Health Organization [WHO[). In the United States alone, confirmed cases number 4,263,531 confirmed with about 147,449 deaths. As the world shut down and the US entered quarantine in mid-March, life as we know it changed forever.

MATC Group responded quickly and efficiently to this “new normal.” We put in place necessary precautions to ensure staff and our client safety during the pandemic by following all state and government mandated rules. Naturally, this has been quite an adjustment. Working from home, though already a norm for some of our employees, shifted the workplace dynamic and left many of our clients with no choice but to halt or slow down production.

“The shift from on-site to at-home was sudden, unexpected, and full of unknowns.”

“Although working remote is the norm at MATC, for many of our clients, the shift from on-site to at-home was sudden, unexpected, and full of unknowns,” said Theresa Pisauro, Technical Writer. “In some cases, projects were put on hold or shelved because they were no longer a priority or because they required on-site access to specific equipment or colleagues that was no longer (easily) available.”

“For now, virtual meetings will have to do.”

An issue we began to face was not connecting with our clients, but instead connecting with each other. The passing greeting in the office is a thing of the past, meaning office relationships and connections need to be maintained virtually. Elizabeth Davenport, Director of Client Solutions, is optimistic, however, that MATC can continue to adapt to any changes Covid-19 throws our way.

“Occasional meet-ups and in-person meetings are helpful in building strong work relationships, but for now virtual meetings will have to do,” Davenport said. “Luckily, we are adept at working with our clients virtually, so it was easy for us to adapt to working with each other. A good thing, because remote work will become increasingly the new-normal after the pandemic! The MATC team can take that in their stride.”

“We’ll come out of this stronger.”

Looking to the future, Executive Vice President Manan Joshi is thankful to the team for their flexibility and for stepping up during these trying times. “There’s a definite struggle between work, focus, and taking care of the kids. I’m thankful for this time with my family and that the transition has been so smooth thanks to the leadership displayed by the whole team.” Joshi believes we’ll come out of this stronger. “We’ve shown clients with strong on-site preferences that we don’t need to be in the same room to get things done,” Joshi said. “There have been many challenges with managing, productivity, and collaborations, but we’ve proven that we can adapt to any challenge.”

Though the future might not be certain, we are certain that we’ll adapt and come out stronger than before. Thankfully, we’re all in this together!

 

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