Monday Morning Wake-Up Call?

~ Live & Learn

And what a wonderful thing that artifice can be. Now that we are all working from home, amid the children, the toast crumbs and the laundry, we are realising that the pretence of an orderly life at the office is also a liberation. It allows each day to have its own architecture, its rhythms of departure and arrival. Putting on a perfectly ironed silk shirt or a crisp suit and leaving the house may be contrived but it is also, says Kellaway, “one of the beauties of working life…It allows us to be a different person. And we’re all so fed up with who we are, the opportunity to be someone else, someone a little bit more impressive, is just so tempting.” When such an escape is denied us, that allure may only grow.

— Catherine Nixey, from “Death of the Office” in The Economist (June/July 2020)

 

33 thoughts on “Monday Morning Wake-Up Call?”

  1. an excellent point. the rituals and routines of going somewhere to do work, and all the trappings that come with that, offer their own special kind of comfort.

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  4. Pros and cons to everything. Maybe finding a nice juste-milieu is in order in the future. Work in the office 2-3-4 days per week, and from home the rest (days depending on preference!)

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  7. I was getting worried when I read about the silk shirts etc and I thought that you were pretty high maintenance. Was glad for Suzanne to see that this wasn’t you!
    I personally have HH down as rather under- than overdressed, wild haired and living mostly in his own universe. I am thankful however to not have 6-7 shirts per week to wash and iron and to care for washable trousers instead of dry clean only attire…

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  8. Also, I wonder if you in the US have a completely different ‘outlay’ of the Economist. Hero Husband has a (very expensive) subscription and he gets a much looked-forward-to copy every single week (if the postal service functions more or less….). You are writing about a June/July 2020 edition?!

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    1. Economist is very expensive. Yes. And Yes, this is the June/July 2020 edition. I confirmed. You know Kiki, we are always a month or two ahead of you Western Europeans.

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  9. I once turned down a fairly lucrative job that awaited only my signature on hiring papers, because I realized I’d been playing this better-me game forever. The job would’ve pleased others and I’d have serious cred again, but this time, I’d actually dreaded spending so much money and time on looking professional from head to toe. I think WFH has opened many eyes to a lot of things, but I think Dale has found a great (and virus-safer) balance to it all as states open and people return to working away from home.

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  11. One benefit of working in a high rise is that you do not have to hear the drone of lawnmowers and the invasive horrible blow out ear drums of the disturbing leaf blowers! With many offices in high rise buildings not being used daily the maintenance people still have work…one issue that has been spoken of is that the building’s water & cooling system must be flushed to prevent an outbreak of Legionnaires disease…before employees return as work day occupants…I am sure that some folks would love the opportunity to continue to work from home full time or part time…while other do not want to be home…The rhythm of life is on reset…

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  12. I get dressed up every day after yoga. I used to wear my yoga gear all day and never thought about it. It started with facetime with my Mum. We were supposed to be going on a river cruise in France, but it was cancelled. We decided to put on our cruise gear and chat on the phone instead. I enjoyed it so much I decided to change every day and reach out to zoom or FaceTime others. Who wants to see anyone in their sloppy sweats …. It feels a bit like being in a Jane Austin novel where every body is always changing for different activities. Husband now comments on how nice I look.
    Put those dapper clothes back on David and it will make a difference!

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  13. I’m sure you don’t hear the drone of chain saws like we do?.We like the quiet, not the noise…most of the time though it is very noise-free..sometimes very noisy.it is a neighborhood after all… just on the edge of town, where the deer, turkey, bobcat, bear and cougars live…oh how we miss spending time in wide open Montana and up the river locally…like I said above: The rhythm of life is on reset…I’ve been running this song through my mind for a few days… I so recommend taking a listen: Three Dog Night tune below (My Mom listened to them and Credence Clear Water Revival (CCR) all the time – “Out In The Country”

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  14. Hope you had time to listen to the song…Hope you like it! 🙂 One of those songs that you can get lost in, imho…in my area you will hear chainsaw in the middle of residential areas…

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