Lots of people we interviewed reflected on the impact the pandemic had on their work, as well as experiences of being furloughed and unemployed.
Many people spoke about struggling with a heavy workload and maintaining work-life balance. Damien, a teacher, struggled with productivity and told us about the exhaustion he was feeling because of this. He spends “the week feeling guilty about not catching up with stuff and getting ahead”. For Tara, her lack of work-life balance was partly due to pandemic restrictions limiting any activities outside of work, mentioning that she has “the work bit but the life bit has kind of disappeared after the last year”.
Some people told us that overworking had an impact on their mental health.
I was just overworking as well, really long hours without any breaks and I think that, kind of, started having a huge impact on my mental health.
Radhana
Luckily Radhana recognised the impact overworking was having and made sure she took time off regularly to focus on her wellbeing, acknowledging that “you can't just do everything in this pandemic”. Gabi had also been able to maintain some work-life balance during the pandemic, as it made her realise that “there's greater importance on looking out for each other and connecting with our families, and that work isn't the be-all or end-all".
Many people we spoke to had worked from home at some point. Damien spoke about his difficulties trying to navigate online teaching and how “lonely” this made him feel. Mariyam has also had to homeschool her children while working from home, which she found “stressful and overwhelming”. Lots of people told us that they miss going into work and find home working isolating.
I just remember being completely scared and heartbroken that I wouldn't be able to see my colleagues every day.
Jamil
As Tara has had to shield, she has been physically unable to go into work while her colleagues can. She felt like she had “slipped through the net” and been “forgotten about” by her colleagues. However, Tara also found that homeworking had been beneficial when experiencing struggles with her mental health and suicidal thoughts, as she says “I've been able to do that in the privacy of my home. I've not had to struggle to manage it in the office.”
Being furloughed caused Alex’s self-esteem to “plummet”, left him feeling “worthless” and like he wants to “stay in bed all day”. For those who have been looking for new employment during the pandemic, some have been struggling. Being rejected from multiple job applications on top of other problems led Radhana to feel suicidal again. However, Gabi has had a slightly different experience telling us that “there’s way more out there than I expected to be”.
Many people expressed money worries in relation to lack of work. Ruby relies on benefits to get by and expressed huge concern that if her allowance was to be impacted by a recession then she would have “no idea how I'm going to put food on the table”.