2020: a year spent remotely

Ah, a new year is upon us. Finally, after what seems like an eternity, we have been able to increment that damned zero to a one.

Without a doubt, 2020 was one of the most challenging years in recent memory for people from all walks of life, regardless of their location or socioeconomic situation. We were all affected. Even if the virus missed us and our loved ones, it was impossible to evade the side-effects that it had on society and the economy.

Companies that previously seemed so integrated in our daily lives to ever fail made unprecedented job cuts, ejecting talented employees into an unstable jobs market. Those who kept their jobs faced hours cuts, and the subsequent reduction in pay, in order to be able to cover their childcare. Who’d have previously imagined schools and nurseries closing for months at a time, and exams being cancelled? How many parents had ever had to think of a Plan B?

And it’s still not over. There was, and still is, less time, less money, and more stress.

Most, if not all, of us in the technology industry had to work from home for much of the year, often in environments that were far from ideal in a multitude of different ways. Few people had the money or space to immediately create dedicated places to work that were comfortable, ergonomic and free from distractions. Many people don’t own their home. Colleagues sharing houses navigated a shared pain. Some became councillors as well as housemates. Colleagues living alone became more isolated. Those in…