What is your WFH routine like?
“I am on the computer a lot, writing, attending online meetings with my staff and clients. Its not routine, as my general work in film and TV production is not routine, so I try to ensure I have mini goals two weeks at a time.”
How does it differ from working in the office?
“For me, I really miss the face-to-face interaction and the separation of work and personal space.”
Do you have a designated area in your home that functions as a workspace?
“No, not really. I work from my dining table as I prefer the view. My work desk faces the TV which is not ideal for me, as I am tempted to switch it on all the time. So I only limit myself to watching TV shows or films as downtime to two hours a day, as I am already online so much.”
Does it give you a better work life balance?
“No. I wake up, do 15-20 minutes of exercise, have breakfast and try to start work by 10am, which falters on some days but once it starts, I can continue till very late, and even on weekends now. I used to ensure that on weekends, work is minimised as I have my family gatherings then, as well as going cycling on Sundays. Now I find it hard to take work out of the equation. There is no physical differentiation, so I feel I am thinking of work more now.”
Has spending time at home given you the opportunity to pick up new hobbies?
“Frankly, no. I am trying to do more exercises on my balance board but other than that, not really. I don’t treat it as downtime for me, so I am constantly working and trying new things for work. We did a Story to Pitch workshop with new writers over five full days, and it was very successful. I found it worked better than if we had a physical workshop in the same room, as for one, I could get writers from around Malaysia to attend not just KL-based writers. Plus with the lockdown, the participants were more focused. So for me this time is meant to find new ways to do things compared to before.”
Once the MCO period is over, is there a possibility of continuing to WFH for you and your team?
“We have already decided not to open the office 100% in order to be careful, so we will still have some days where my staff will WFH on alternate days, despite lifting of the MCO and we can minimise the staff mingling too much in the office. As for me I will also minimise social interactions. As for production, we are already looking to see how we can minimise crew on set, and shoot with actors not being too close together with clever camera angles. I don’t think work will ever go back to being the same again, until a vaccine is found.”
Lina Tan, executive producer for Red Communications
