I’m On Furlough – How Should I Be Using My Time?

In a world of inspirational memes and #girlpost Instagram posts, it’s easy to forget that we all get stuck at work, or feel like we can’t find a way forward at times. Sue Unerman is the Chief Transformation Officer at MediaCom and Kathryn Jacob OBE is the Chief Executive at Pearl and Dean. Together they wrote The Glass Wall: Success Strategies For Women At Work And Businesses That Mean Business. The answer your work questions with pragmatic, honest advice that’s proven to work…

Question: I’ve been furloughed. I am out of the office, and not working. How do I keep my career on track?

Kathryn Jacob: So it can feel very weird not to be part of day to day work, and with the restrictions around what you can do. My colleagues who are furloughed (I work in cinema advertising) are using this time to brush up on some of their skills and to learn new ones. As cinemas are currently closed (planned to open in July and watch out for drive ins in June too) we don’t have any deadlines around a full return to work although plans are starting to be made for the summer. In the interim colleagues are watching talks from some of our industry bodies, are joining in with mindfulness sessions put on by some of our industry partners and using the time to deal with sorting out office chores like deleting emails or organising files and getting themselves ready for when they return.

Sue Unerman: As Kathryn has remarked these are very weird times. They are difficult to navigate yet in every difficult time there are some opportunities as well as barriers to deal with. So you have time to think about your career direction, to take a long term view of where you want get to. And some time to plan for this. There are some certainties. Digital skills will always be useful. If you can learn something new in this respect it will not be wasted. And although you can’t do your job, you can think about the sector that you are in, you can think about how to network with others in your situation, and perhaps your enforced and unchosen career break may allow you to be creative about your career.

KJ: It can be hard if you don’t have a structure in your day. The lure of box sets and catching up on movies you’ve missed shouldn’t win out every day. Make sure that you are exercising, be it 15 minutes of yoga to start your day off, or setting yourself some goals that you’ve always wanted to achieve (a 5k run regularly for instance). You could also volunteer to use your time to bring colleagues together in a non-work way. At my company we have a weekly quiz and take it in turns to set the questions. This allows you to interact with the people you work with in a fun way.

SU: There is so much content being generated in my industry (I work in media) that it can be hard to keep up with it all. If you have the time, you should look for the best speakers on business out there (TED talks are a great resource) and you should read as much as you can about progressing your career. The Glass Wall book is of course available and there are many other great books to help your career out there too. Don’t set yourself targets that just leave you feeling disappointed, remember this is a time to be kind to yourself. We don’t know your living circumstances but many people lack a private space at home, or have children or relatives to care for. This situation means that you don’t shut the door on any chaos that might exist at home and leave for the office for 8 hours but have to juggle the demands of where and who you live with together with thinking about your career. It is very admirable that you are taking a long term view, but set yourself reasonable goals. Guilt about not fulfilling super woman status will not help you now. But planning and thinking will.

KJ: All those people who have said that if you don’t use this time to either learn a new language, make bread or conquer all your cluttered cupboards, can just go and boil their heads. This is no time for people to project their own personal fantasies or views onto others. As Sue has said the key thing is to be kind to yourself.

SU: And be open. Be open to the fact that things are not under your control. Be open to some chaos. To plans going astray.

KJ: And be open to the fact that you will have good days and bad days.

SU: I’ve heard this situation characterised as an emotional Corona-coaster, and it is certainly true for me. The two things that everyone wants to know are when will it end and will it be alright? And Kathryn and I don’t have the answers. But what we do know is that making learning new skills a priority can only be useful. Also, do reach out to people in your sector that you had always wanted to speak to, but don’t necessarily know. One of the opportunities this situation has created is that everyone is at home. Some people have more time as they can’t travel and perhaps their workload is lighter. If you reach out to them they might have time for a chat. (Although bear in mind that others don’t have the time so don’t be upset if you don’t get a response – everyone is dealing with different life events now). If there someone who you feel could give you good specific advice why not reach out now?

KJ: Try to enjoy this time if you can, and this space. This will eventually be a memory. Stay safe.

READ MORE: Life in Covid times