EQ at home – Anna Coff

At EQ, our people are at the heart of what we do.

Although working from home means we are physically spread across our regions, our team are working hard to maintain regular communication with their clients whilst continuing to support colleagues by connecting with them daily.

We caught up with Anna Coff, Assistant Manager in our Forfar office, to find out more about her experience working from home.

How are you finding working remotely?

Our IT dept did an outstanding job getting us all set up to work remotely and with most clients (or their bookkeepers) being technology savvy, I’m working away just fine and being kept very busy. I’ve moved my dining table and also retrieved a second screen as it was painful trying to work with just one screen again. The hardest part has been juggling work and looking after my 18 month old son. He’s too little to entertain himself.

What are you doing to keep in touch with the rest of the EQ team?

Same as everyone else so far, WhatsApp groups, FaceTime calls, Microsoft Teams, Snapchats. Technology makes this lockdown much more bearable because you can still see people face to face. We are very lucky really. I try and make the extra effort to do a video chat if possible as I feel it makes a difference. There are plenty of funny videos getting shared and we do a quiz on Friday nights to keep everyone’s spirits up. I miss the office banter a lot, but what we have going on is the next best thing.

How are you looking after your emotional well being?

With the prospect of video chats, I make sure I still get ready every day and do my hair and put my face on – not quite Roald Dahls “The Witches” – but not far off. The odd day that I’ve moped around, I’ve definitely felt worse for it. I’m out walking my dogs everyday with my son in the backpack, or I go for a run and clear my mind and get some peace from the madness of my house. My dogs are driving me up the wall with their barking – it’s a shame though, they think every passer-by is coming to visit. I may or may not have threatened them with taxidermy a few times. However, we now have a mutual understanding of why they try and run out the door every time it’s opened, because I feel the same urge at the minute.

I am trying to see the positive in this as I know things could be a lot worse, and it’s nice to live a simpler life for a few weeks. And of course, plenty of WINE!

What advice would you give to others working from home?

Find a new routine and stick to it. Close your laptop at the weekend. Get fresh air and now is not the time to give up the things you enjoy – so have the chocolate, the cheese and the wine. It’s important to have things to look forward to at the end of each day.

Tell us, what are your new co-workers like?

Loud, bossy and demanding but keep me entertained. Not too different to my usual EQ co-workers really…. 😉

Our doors may be temporarily closed, but EQ are still here to support you. You can contact us on any of our usual telephone numbers and email addresses, which you can find on the Our People page on this website.