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Kathleen McNally is a nursing administrator in Mayo University Hospital and is working from home on the family dairy farm at the moment.
“I had never worked from home before and I don’t think the hospital would have considered it before COVID-19. I’m a personal assistant to the director of nursing and the director of midwifery. I have an immune issue, so my GP said it would be safer to work offsite. Because we are front line services, most people are needed on-site.
“I have a corner of the sitting room to work in. The kids’ study desk and a chair were there already. One of my children is a pure farmer and doesn’t mind that I took the study desk and my daughter studies in her room. The hospital provided a laptop.
“It was a big change – literally I could get up and hit the desk running. Being honest, the lack of school drop-offs and screaming kids really helped. I found that when I was working, I was working. Whereas in work, there’s a bit of settling in when you get there.
“However, I found it very hard to switch on and switch off in the beginning. I found I was looking at emails first thing in morning before I got out of bed. The reality is, no one wants to receive an email from you late at night. I felt guilty not being at the hospital and was compensating by checking emails at all hours. There was a certain amount of getting used to it. My kids would be very quick to tell me ‘mam you’re finished work now’ if I’m working after hours. I’m conscious of it not impacting on family life.
“I did the level six course on remote working. It was very good and focused me and got my desk in order. The course is delivered online and there were some assessments. There was also support sessions in the evenings for people to send in queries. It was done across the HSE. It was something that helped focus my mind – I think I’m more productive now than I would have been in the office. My line manager, the director of nursing and director of midwifery have been very supportive and keep in regular contact with me to make sure that I am doing OK working from home. My work colleagues have also assisted me in doing tasks that aren’t possible for me to complete remotely.
“Working from home should continue to be an option for people in the future, as it gives a good work-life balance. Having two or three days in the office would work. From a family friendly point of view, it would have been a godsend for me when the kids were smaller. It’s definitely something I hope the HSE will look at.
“At lunchtime in the hospital, I would never leave the building, but at home I go out into the garden for half an hour or go out and bring in the cows before work. You’re not running and racing as much. You can be there to stand in a gap when needed. I hope that when things settle down, that we can continue to do some remote working.”
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