Constructive Thinking - Personal Experiences

‘I’ve continued to work throughout the lockdown, although many of my colleagues have been furloughed. The change to working from home has meant an increase in calls using video conference platforms such as Zoom - and it’s proved to be really effective.

So much so that I think that many companies like ourselves, will look to extend the usage of this meeting format into the future - and not just for internal meetings, but external client and customer meetings too.

That said, working from home isn’t without its challenges! Like most people I suspect, I’ve had to be quite disciplined in separating work from time with the family.’

‘Certainly, trading is very challenging. It’s the hardest thing that I’ve had to deal with in almost 30 years in this industry. Like lots of people, we initially closed, which was very difficult at first. 

We went through the Public Health England guidelines - how could we trade, how could we keep going. It’s very worrying running a business and looking after your own family.’

'All of the Keymer Heritage team have been furloughed except for me - and it’s actually been a bit tricky. Usually, we would all work very closely as a team. We all have different strengths and all do different roles, so having them not here to work with, and as a support, has actually been really hard. 

From a positive point of view, I’ve found that I’m building better relationships with those who are still at work. Most of these people I knew as names on an email.’

‘I work from home a few days a week anyway, so it wasn’t a massive adjustment for me in terms of making that a full-time arrangement. 

Like most people, you soon get into the groove of it - and I certainly haven’t missed being stuck in traffic!’

‘The Brick Tile Company is only 12 months old as a brand, so although I’m still working, I’ve had to furlough our first two two members of staff. 

Our Marketing Director and Customer Service Manager have unfortunately been temporarily furloughed under the government support scheme.’

‘I personally have not been furloughed. I have a team of 12 people, and of those 12 people four were furloughed at first.

However, all four have since been brought back to work and we are now fully operational.’