The pandemic that is sweeping the world this year has taken its toll on everyone. Every day the stock market reacts to the numbers from China, Italy and the United States, fluctuating like a yo-yo and causing havoc in Washington DC. Less than a month ago the President was telling the country that it was going to be fine, nothing to see here just keep moving on with your life. His pundits at FOX proceeded to call the pandemic a hoax and has confused and disillusioned his base and his republican followers.

This past Monday, the company I work for called an online team meeting to all employees of the corporate office. We were advised that due the nature of the pandemic and the risk each of us was taking working near each other; we were told to pack up our workstation and set up a home base for the next fifteen days.

Tuesday morning, I woke to begin my first day working at home. I live alone and working in a small 900 square foot apartment is not the ideal situation, but it will temporarily work if everything goes back to normal and I will be able to go back to the gym, enjoy lunch at a nearby restaurant, and yes, not worry that I might possibly run out of toilet paper.

Then I thought, what if this is now the new normal? What if after a month or two of offices shutting down and sending their staff home to do the same job proves to be beneficial to their expenses. The idea that their utility bills, cleaning expense, office supplies, and other essentials to run an office is eliminated from their balance sheet for the month of March and April can raise some eyebrows. Especially if the workflow never stops. The invoices are getting processed, the checks are written on time, the bank statements are balanced, payroll is getting processed and training goes on as planned in online forums instead of in person.

Will the stockholders want to keep the status quo and let the rental property of that holds a staff of two hundred go for a smaller space that holds space for executives and conference rooms for staff meetings and other events that require the employees to come into an office setting. In addition, with global warming a possible culprit to this current pandemic, there will more likely be more and more pandemics to create havoc on the world.

By the end of the week, I asked a few of my co-workers to answer a few questions regarding the first week's experience working from home. Surprisingly there were mixed answers and a few that were obvious as knowing their personalities.

Below are the questions and the results:

1,Did you miss the social interaction with your fellow employees?

2 answered YES, 1 answered NO, and one had mixed feelings about it.

2. Did you stay self-disciplined and self-motivated?

3 answered Yes, 1 answered it took a day or two to adjust.

3. Can you stay physically active while working?

2 answered NO, 2 answered YES with details on how they keep moving and not stuck in front of the workstation for hours at a time.

4. Do you feel comfortable communicating with colleagues via email, chat, video conference, etc. instead of face to face?

All 4 answered YES, (I can only assume social networking has helped.)

5. Did you find a quiet, distraction-free area at home in which to focus on work?

All 4 answered YES, with 1 co-worker describing how she had to tune out the spouse that is working from home as well.

6. If the company finds this a cost-benefit to them would telecommuting help achieve the work-life balance you want?

2 answered NO, and 2 answered YES.

Our lives have changed in a very short time. For many, it feels like living in a horror sci-fi movie. We will forever be impacted. The shelves at stores are empty, people are avoiding each other, and gun and ammunition sales have sky-rocketed. Here in Florida, it feels like we are watching a very slow-moving hurricane coming towards us and there is no place to hide.

The act of social distancing is our only defense and needs to be taken seriously. Taking steps to keep yourself healthy and safe as well as keeping your loved ones safe is tantamount to slow the Coronavirus. Please remember to wash your hands, don't touch your face, cover your face when coughing or sneezing. If you feel sick stay at home and call your doctor if you have a fever.