Working from home. It's here to stay for many people it seems, and plenty of us are absolutely fine with that. If you prefer your dog to your colleagues and find dressing in the morning to be entirely optional, then the 'WFH for the foreseeable' directives recently issued by the government will be music to your ears.
During these unprecedented times (as, I think, a further government edict says we have to call them) there's been plenty of, well, unprecedents. That's why Trebor, they of the Extra Strong and Softmints, have been asking the British public what lockdown incidents leave them thinking "Give Me Strength".
Strength is something that comes with confidence, the kind of inner confidence that only having the freshest breath around can unlock. That's why you need your Extra Strong Mints on hand. They're like Popeye's spinach (or, if you're a certain vintage, Bananaman's bananas), but tastier and leave your breath smelling better.
The public, 18,000 of them to be exact, responded with some fairly stringent opinions on what made them think "Give Me Strength!" about the WFH environment. It seems that the lockdown has made us all realise how much we loved work, or at least, how much we liked having a bit of time away from the family to see our colleagues. People flung shade at everything from farting dogs, their beloved partners, husbands, wives, kids and roommates and even the postman interrupting by ringing the doorbell in the middle of a crucial video call. It's enough to make you reach for the Trebor Extra Strong Mints, especially if there's the whiff of canine cologne in the air.
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It wasn't all negative responses to the survey. It turns out that we really, really like wearing pyjamas all day, having a readily accessible fridge and, believe it or not, having our family about the gaff as we work. A full 63% said that not taking their jimmy-jams off all day was a work from home highlight, with a further 56% admitting that sometimes they don't even get out of bed to work. Of course, the policy of wearing pyjamas and staying in bed all day might necessitate a video-off on the video call, but some people (based on the numbers, most of you...) see that as a benefit anyway.
The survey also turned up plenty of WFH misadventures where 'Give Me Strength' comes into play.
"Forgetting that you aren't wearing trousers on a video call and getting up to turn on a light" said one respondent, while another confessed that "My cat has eaten the T, S and 3 keys from my keyboard. S is more common than I appreciated!" Someone even reported that their massive pile of ironing was causing them angst, although with nowhere to go, it does question why they would bother ironing at all. Maybe they still dress for dinner like they live in a Poirot novel about global pandemics. Maybe they just need a Trebor Extra Strong Mint to give them a little more strength. For sure, "Give Me Strength!" is an emotion that we can all get behind.
Despite flatulent dogs (no strength of mint is going to sort that, sorry) or our little bundles of joy running around while we're trying to make a very serious point to our bosses, we're coping well. Keep going, Britain. Just don't bother with the ironing. Nobody is going to see the creases, especially in your pyjamas.
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