Stay Calm and Embrace the Chaos that is WFH

Employee Engagement

Andy Dignan Chief Operating Officer

Andy Dignan has spent the majority of his career in the contact center and collaboration space. From consulting, to implementing, to designing, and selling solutions, his strength lies in his ability to bridge the gap between technical and business level conversations. Whether it’s meeting with a CIO or whiteboarding with a CTO, Andy is skilled at developing solutions that create positive business outcomes. He has a deep understating of the technology landscape and is considered an industry expert in the contact center & collaboration industry.

April 17, 2020

Stay Calm and Try Not to Scream While on Zoom is the title of my new self-help book which I’ve written since being in quarantine. With all the craziness that is going on now, I thought that I would share my work from home experience – illustrating how unglamorous life at home can be and the calm guy that my colleagues see during a Zoom meeting is far from the truly chaotic life that is my house.

These days my calendar is packed with virtual meetings from early mornings to evenings. For those of you who have this notion that you work less from home - WRONG! It’s madness, but I’m grateful to be employed at a company that enables our employees to work remote – especially, during times like these.

I want to share a secret with you… Behind every Zoom meeting there is complete chaos at my house. Like millions of other people right now, my kids are at home and the quarantine has gotten them to go a tad stir crazy. I have had my nails painted, my hair buzzed, kids fighting, dogs barking, Amazon ringing the door bell, me yelling at everyone to be QUIET, all while my wife, Jodi is “teaching” fifth and third grade e-learning.

And yet when I get on calls, everyone doesn’t hear Riley screaming that her sister Kara just hit her for the 3^rd time today, and Hope and Annie (our dogs) barking; I just smile and talk away as if nothing is going on. How do I do it?

I am not going to lie – wine/whiskey both help at night. During the day, technology adds that extra layer that we all need right now. So, I first start with the life-saving Zoom virtual background to hide the kids fighting and the pizza boxes hidden in the basement that now is my office. I then add my Poly headsets WITH noise cancellation capabilities. There you have it - my secret sauce to looking so calm on video while on a work call! Beyond that, working for a company who values family helps. I actually love bringing my kids into the calls with me, makes things much less stressful. I’m truly blessed.

They say it’s a crazy world out there right now, but I laugh at that because I am willing to bet my household and probably most of yours right now is where the crazy really is. I can’t be the only one so feel free to share your WFH funny nightmares.

Contact me to see how I put all this beautiful technology to use to make WFH ideal or simply because you need someone to commiserate with. Oh, and as a legal notice I must put in here: I love my kids and family dearly….and pretty sure they like me too. :)

Stay home, stay safe and stay sane!