Our workplace is lonelier, but goal of valuable news is even stronger
In May 2019, I wrote the following as the Daily Herald prepared to move from our offices just east of the intersection of Algonquin and Arlington Heights roads in Arlington Heights to our new offices just west of the intersection of Algonquin and Arlington Heights roads: "For all the diversity of workplaces I've enjoyed, the work itself has changed little. It's still the daily wonder of working shoulder to shoulder with intelligent, passionate, determined colleagues and engaging in the grit of life, whether it be the heart-pounding flush of a local drama on deadline or the focused intensity of a detailed political discussion."
Suddenly, I find that description must be modified - only a little, but significantly. That "shoulder to shoulder" thing has become "phone to phone" or "screen to screen," and those heart-pounding flushes and political discussions one experiences in a vibrant newsroom have lost, if nothing else, some of their vicarious urgency and all of their attention-diverting spontaneity. Even though technology enables us to accomplish most of the raw functions of our jobs almost as easily in our gym clothes at home as in our business suits at the office, there is no denying the difference between the oppressive silence when you work from your den, living room or kitchen table and the invigorating energy of an active office.
One of our editors told me this week that we editors are learning something even beyond the lessons of adapting to new ways of doing our jobs. "Suddenly, we're getting to experience firsthand the things we've been asking our reporters to do for years," he said. "We now should know a little better what it's like for them." He has a point. Even before laptops and wi-fi made it more convenient for reporters to write directly from a meeting or news event, there has never been a substitute for face-to-face experiences to help reporters understand their beats and the people they cover. And, as our office work has become more centralized, it has been a great boon to efficiency and writing on deadline for reporters to be able to send their work directly from the field. Facebook and other forms of social media have helped keep editors as well as reporters in closer touch with communities and sources.
But there is a trade-off for such advantages, and some of us are coming to appreciate them now more directly than we might have before. When a night-shift page designer must work for a couple hours at the coffee table with the family dog licking his face while his 9-to-5 spouse finishes her work at the kitchen table, he learns some things about the mixed comforts of working from home. When a writer finds herself conducting interviews at all hours while sharing management of a young child with a spouse trying to keep up with a full-time job of his own, the notion of a convenient office environment takes on new meaning.
Families and individuals across the country are no doubt learning similar lessons and important practical skills for managing time and duties as we all navigate the uncharted waters of the world COVID-19 has given us. For our part in the newsroom - as I suspect in your profession as well - the key observation remains the one I made 11 months ago. Our workplace may change, but our dedication to our work - and our goal to provide valuable, engaging and entertaining information - remains as strong as ever. Indeed, considering the nature of the threat that has so disheveled our lives, it is even stronger.
jslusher@dailyherald.com