With many of you now interviewing or getting offers for co-op, you must be wondering if offices will be open in January. The answer is, probably not. In fact, some executives believe that offices will never be at full capacity again, according to The New York Times. Goldman Sachs is currently at 33% capacity in New York and London, JP Morgan is at 20% capacity, and Citigroup is at a “small percentage” capacity in North America. I know a couple of people working full time in companies in New York and Boston, and they are to be working from home until further notice. This is highly concerning to those of you who are new to a company as training is most efficient when a manager is next to you for any questions or concerns you may have. I remember during my co-ops, I was constantly tapping my managers’ shoulders for help with understanding my workflow at the company.
On the bright side, there are now many technological upgrades for remote work. New studies show that working from home helps companies cut costs and employees happier. Did you know that on average, a company expenses about $20,000 per employee a year to work in an office? Businesses are able to cut those costs and invest in better technology or more employees. Many employees are allegedly much happier working from home because they no longer have managers and higher ups breathing down their necks. When I was on co-op, I had about 4 hours of work and 6 hours of “pretending to work”. I remember my manager specifically telling me that she knows I don’t have as much work as her managers think, but I should still at least “pretend” to work. When I am at home, there is no need for that. I can run more errands and get a little more sleep or free time. All I need to do is answer some Slack messages and emails to show that I am “working”.
A lot of you are probably concerned about working from home during your next co-op, but there is really not much to worry about. Training will be a bit more difficult and confusing, but once you get past that, your life may be a lot easier. No commute; no manager; enjoy it while you can!
