People make a lot of noise about change. But secretly we all like it. We want change. Just not the same change you want. In the 1990’s, the open-laboratory floor plan became the space de rigueur. It was an adjustment from the custom of private, enclosed lab space. And some researchers really did not like it.

I'm not old enough to give opinion on the transition, but I do recall reading an article in the Aughts that catalogued the open lab’s finer qualities. The arguments in favor included better collaboration and ease of access to common resources. I have worked in both lab spaces, and I very much enjoyed the open lab. It feels more collaborative, even if the researcher sitting nearby is paranoid or elusive. The open format allows an ease of conversing with others outside of your own focus. I have had wonderful conversations and built great connections between lab benches.

The open lab can be distracting though, and a hotbed for suspicion when precious resources go missing. Not everyone was happy with the transition, and even now the science community is seeing some demand for a return to the good old days of private lab space. It seems our habit of adapting space to meet our needs is constantly evolving.

Gaston Bachelard would have it no other way. “It is better to live in a state of impermanence than in one of finality.” (Bachelard, 1994) The admirer of mollusks might deny us any arrival at the perfect space – only to approach the dream in perpetuity. We are always changing.

As I write this, change comes to me in the form of contractors working on my roof (with sledgehammers, apparently). In a foolhardy attempt at ameliorating the noise, I popped in some headphones and listened to the soundtrack of 2001: A Space Odyssey. In hindsight, this was the most appropriate bad idea I ever had.

The Shelter-At-Home policy has changed our way of life drastically. Yet, I have come to appreciate the opportunities that working from home has afforded me:

I’ve apportioned time to improving my ab workout. One bonus I’ve encountered is the ability to do a workout in the middle of my day. It relieves stress for me as well.

I’m working on my omelet game. We can never reach perfection, but we can approach it with carefully folded eggs that leave no trace of their transition in the pan.

That time I spent waiting in Los Angeles traffic is now a fertile ground for reading and writing. I downloaded Seneca’s Letters, read the first few, and learned that I should be finishing my books. Challenge accepted: I’m going back to all those books I’m fifty percent through and knocking them out.

Finally, I’m getting deep into all the telecommuting software functionality. We all are. With so many options available to us, it can be a quandary to choose the best tool for the job. In my work with the Skid Row Housing Trust, we are determining how to make remote meetings accessible to the most clients while protecting sensitive information. Maybe Zoom is not the best choice for that application, but Duo is lacking for our purposes as well. Those two apps are appropriate for other markets though. Many remote workers are finding them to be the perfect fit.

Now, news sources opine that some changes in our labor could be permanent. The remote workforce isn’t new, though. Even before coronavirus struck, some businesses began exploring the benefits of remote management. In fact, the remote workforce has been around for quite a while: many of my friends and family are experienced with working remotely. It has its charms and grievances.

My wife has worked remotely for a few years, and I can say without bias that she’s pretty damn good at it. And now that we’re all working from home, she gets to pass that wisdom on to me.

I’ve seen many of my coworkers thrive in the new remote environment. They often get into ‘the office’ early. I mean early. Six A.M. They are communicating efficiently, effectively and even exuberantly. They make it a joy to do the job. I don’t think that comes from a reduced workload – the work’s actually increased! Instead, I think it comes from the capability to self-manage and prioritize, as well as a readiness to meet new challenges.

Remote workers aren’t the only ones hit with challenges. Those who are counted “essential” must scrounge up whatever personal protective equipment they can find and report on site, sometimes in uncomfortable or overly exposed environments. Someone who is working a register, or perhaps contracting with a team of roofers, is virtually standing on the Verdun of the pandemic. And yet many are thankful even for this, given the alternative of joining the longest unemployment line since the Great Depression. Change is rarely safe. This is why we who are able must be ready to rebuild and create new opportunities.

We must be ready to meet new challenges head-on! Since our economy is experiencing a “rest”, euphemistically speaking, we need to prepare for the next challenge: We need to come up with ideas for creative new markets to drive us out of the coming recession. It won’t be easy. But whoever said change is “easy”?