Starting a new role during a global pandemic

The infamous ‘first day’ feeling, a mixture of nerves and excitement setting off the butterflies in your stomach, before meeting a whole new team of people and getting to know a brand-new set of systems and procedures. I’m sure everyone can relate to this feeling at one time or another in their lives, however my first day with Ecology by Design had an additional layer of strangeness to it. This is because I joined during one of the most unprecedented times in memorable history, the outbreak of COVID-19, a deadly virus which has spread far and wide across the globe affecting everyone and everything.

My first day with Ecology by Design was the 1st of April 2020, by which time the UK was just over a week into its still ongoing ‘lockdown’. During this lockdown, people can only work from home (unless they physically can’t do their job there) and can only leave the house for either food, medicine or 1 form of exercise once a day. Many businesses such as pubs, restaurants and retail stores have been forced to shut and the economy is taking a battering, with the government spending a sixth of the entire UK economy on helping millions of people that would otherwise have no income. Not to mention the thousands of lives that have tragically been lost to the virus and the damage it is causing not only to the economy but to people themselves.

So, it was with this backdrop that I joined Ecology by Design... Not exactly an ideal start to my first job in ecology since graduating from university. However, it has by no means been a bad start, with both negatives and positives arising from the situation we are in. Below, I’ve made a short list of some of the drawbacks and more positive things about starting my new role during a global pandemic.

Some drawbacks:

“Nice to (kind of) meet you”

One of the obvious difficulties in starting a new role without going to the office is not being able to meet the team. Personally, I love being around people and working with them but with each of us being at our respective homes, the whole ‘getting to know each other’ part of the job doesn’t get off to a flying start. Also, getting to grips with the company’s systems and procedures etc is not so easy when you aren’t in an office. I always like the idea of having experienced people around me who I pester for a bit of guidance, no matter how small, but this is not possible in the current situation.

Sluggish start

Starting a new role is almost always slow at the beginning, as you gradually learn about how things are done in the company, how to navigate their IT systems etc. However, with the COVID-19 situation putting various restrictions in place, such as working from home and social distancing it has arguably further slowed my start. With the whole country and economy taking a momentary pause, there isn’t currently heaps of fieldwork to dive straight into, however, as you will see below, it isn’t all doom and gloom.

Some positives:

Ecology and COVID-19

Firstly, I must be thankful that during a time of such turmoil, I am able to start a new position, whilst many others are sadly having to face the opposite. This is partly down to the fact that, compared with other sectors and industries in the country, ecology has not been as disastrously affected. This is because the vast majority of fieldwork can be carried out alone or with suitable social distancing and the desk-based side of work, such as reporting, quoting, project management etc can be carried out from home. Fieldwork is starting to slowly build up and when the restrictions are loosened our work is likely to rocket sky-high, as postponed projects will be wanting to go full steam ahead. For a more detailed blog about the impacts of COVID-19 on the ecology sector, click here.

Modern technology

With modern technology, the world is a much smaller place. Like many thousands of businesses over the globe we are making the most of virtual online meetings, which has made getting to know the team a bit easier and helped to put faces to names. They have all been really friendly so far and have made it clear they’re here to support any queries I may have, which is fantastic. Everything we work with is based in the cloud and we are making good use of tools such as Zoom to keep in touch from home.

Commute

Whilst it is a huge shame I cannot start my new job in the office, one consolation is that my commute is approximately 1 metre: from my bed to my desk. Good for the environment as well as sleep!

Home comforts

To add to the previous point, the fact that I am working from home means that I can drink copious amounts of coffee and wear slippers whilst working, without being judged. I’m sure this is something the millions of people currently working from home up and down the UK can relate to.

Megan and Tristan

I have not been the only person to join Ecology by Design during these strange times, Megan and Tristan were both welcomed to the team on the same day as me. It has been comforting to know that I’m not the only new starter and having others that are in the same boat as me is reassuring.

So, there we have it, some positives and negatives from starting a new job during a global pandemic. Despite the circumstances I am very much excited to start my ecology career here at Ecology by Design and cannot wait to start gaining experience both in the field and in the office. Thank you to the team for a warm welcome so far.