How has work in Organization Excellence & Human Resources changed since remote operations began at UW Bothell? Jimena Huamani, OE/HR assistant, answers a few questions from Maria Lamarca Anderson.
Q. What would you normally be doing now and where?
A. At this time, I would be bouncing between offices in OE/HR at Beardslee Crossing to give an update about the multiple projects we are working on. Someone in our department would have also brought some goodies to share, and then we would talk about the weekend and how we all spent it. We would also be working with multiple student managers as it is time to think about hiring student workers for the next school year. I would get the mail and check in with multiple people in our building.
It is honestly a bit difficult trying to think what we would be doing at this time. We have been working from home for so long that is almost normal at this point. There are so many different matters that come up each week that regular projects we have planned have to be postponed or changed to fit into how we are working now.
Q. What are you trying to work on today?
A. For work, I am trying to finish sending communication out about Zoom Zoom to Connect. Zoom Zoom to Connect was created in order to build our community now that we are all working from home. I will be working on my budgets and Procards and trying to get every receipt online. I will also be preparing for a training session for managers on how to support their teams and themselves during this time.
After work, I will be spending time with my mom watching movies (Hulu and Netflix have been a godsend especially with Spanish subtitles since my mom is still struggling with the English language), and cutting/bleaching my mom’s hair. Now that I have cut my brother’s and my own hair, my mom trusts me enough to touch hers as well!
Q. What adjustments have you made to fulfill your work responsibilities?
A. Working from home has been a challenge, even more so when I don’t know — none of us know — how long I will be doing this. I have bought a second monitor since doing my current work on a laptop is difficult (I work with data). I have ensured my internet is fast enough to support the multiple Zoom calls I have all day and have coordinated with my family when I need them to be quiet. My next adjustment is to buy a chair cushion since my back is starting to hurt from sitting in chairs with no support.
Q. What are you doing to care for yourself or for others?
A. At first, I binge-watched multiple shows and read books to get my mind off the things that were happening. Nowadays, I have better forms of self-care. I have taken up water-coloring and drawing. I often video chat with my family (I live in Bothell, my mom and siblings live in California, and my dad and extended family live in Lima, Peru) to check in on how they are and have Zoom calls with my friends to check in on them as well. I sometimes also work out with my brother’s girlfriend online, try to take walks or just drive around in order to change the scenery. I am currently with my family in California as I needed to spend some quality time with them after spending two months by myself.
Q. Do you have a change of perspective to share?
A. I discovered that most of my work on can be done remotely. I really enjoy Zoom and Microsoft Teams since they allow our department to still collaborate with one another at a distance.
In my personal life, because I can’t do it in person right now, I appreciate even more spending quality time with my coworkers, friends and family. I miss going to the mall, just walking through the store and sitting down at a restaurant to have a meal.
Q. What other thoughts or feelings do you want to share?
A. This is a time for me to really think about myself and my values. What kind of person I want to be and what I want to aspire to. I want to be compassionate, kind, supportive and understanding of others since there are multiple matters we all must tackle together.
