The latest from King County in Washington State is that employees will be working from home through July 2021 and beyond challenges the online job landscape due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while working moms are having to endure job loss due to kids having to school from home, and churches help to reach out to those who are unable to weather the coronavirus storm.
While the majority of the work in the United States has moved to telecommute and work from home, those who were quick to adapt are enjoying the benefits of doing so, and the employers are loving the decreased overhead and increased productivity.
Barriers to Working from Home
1. Technology Skills
Then there are those who were unable to find adapting to the work at home model less effectively. Many people found the technological challenges as a barrier which they could not navigate successfully. It is so important to overcome this obstacle. Start using your phone, tablet, laptop, computer more.
Use it for fun. Play games, keep in touch with family and friends by text, email, and video chat. When you think of a question that you think you might like to know the answer to, Google it. The more you do these things, the more you are building your technology skill set. This is so important in the world that is emerging from the rubble of the coronavirus pandemic.
Inspirational Seniors
For inspiration, visit any senior center, retirement home, or nursing home, and you will be both surprised and thrilled (and/or challenged) to find most of the residents actively engaged with their cell phones and tablets, which is so impressive to think that only a few years ago, you may have found them quietly sitting around a television. Even though this is the segment of the populace that is most at risk due to COVID-19, now, they are playing games, interacting with family, friends, learning, and discovering new things. Seniors and the elderly are enjoying a higher quality of life thanks to embracing this wave of new tech.
2. Rural Internet Access
There are some rural areas that make telecommuting inaccessible due to a lack of reliable Internet connection(s). These are challenges that are being addressed and circumvented, so as not to be an impassable barrier to telework.
School Internet Access
First off, school districts are funding connectivity for children who are isolated in rural areas with no Internet access to enable these students to school from home. Potential telecommuters in these geographical areas will benefit from this effort. Check with your local school district.
Elon Musk’s Internet Access
Elon Musk’s SpaceX and affordable Starlink Satellite Internet is in the process of being set up and may be available in your area, check it out online at https://www.starlink.com
Coworking Spaces
You may have a local coworking space where members pay a subscription fee or per-use fee to have access to a cubicle or workspace and have access to a fast Internet connection. Google: coworking space near me.
Churches are Helping
Many local churches are answering the call during the pandemic crisis and are making free internet available to the community. No need to enter the church building, which withholds the social distancing restrictions, as anyone is welcomed to come into the parking lot and use their Internet connection at no charge. You will see students studying and teleworkers working thanks to churches providing this invaluable support.
In a time when churches are unable to exercise their services and gatherings in a normal fashion, they are answering the call and raising the bar for assisting their communities during these unprecedented times by providing food, personal protective equipment, and other basic toiletry items such as hand sanitizer, diapers, baby wipes, baby formula, as well as providing care packages to frontline essential workers and mobile showers for the lodging challenged.
Some churches are also providing safe havens for undocumented immigrant children to continue their online studies from inside the church building while supporting and offering sanctuary to these at-risk families. They can provide the ability to telecommute, or provide childcare to enable the household provider to continue to work while maintaining the separation of church and state.
3. Workspace and Equipment
Other barriers that may complicate potential work-from-homers might include the inability to create an effective workspace inside your home and adapting the separation from distractions that are necessary for a successful work from home experience.
Check with your local State-funded employment service, you may be qualified for subsidies to help you overcome these challenges.
4. Online Job Scams
And when you are out there looking for online jobs that you can work from home, be aware that there are wolves in sheep’s clothing as organized crime and criminals who are looking to exploit those who are unaware of the risks of looking for work online. Do not let this dissuade you from your online job search. Do your due diligence and check out any offer before you accept it. Exercise caution when accepting any assignment that might sound too good to be true, it might be a scam.
The dark side of the Internet is fully engaged as hackers and evildoers are exploiting any weakness during the pandemic, and this will ultimately make this space safer and more secure in the future. In the meantime, during this expansive growth process, be mindful and cautious but not fearful.