Greetings from the home office, episode 6: Markus Hammer, Equipe

Markus Hammer is a father of two and has been head of content and creation at Equipe for six months. For more than twenty years, he has been designing and implementing communicative measures and campaigns across all channels. Hammer is a passionate football fan and naturally finds it tragic that FCSG's current run has been interrupted so abruptly.

How long have you been in the home office?

Since Monday last week.

Is your entire agency located in a home office?

Basically, yes. However, some people come in on foot or by bike to be able to concentrate and work in peace. Which is not always easy at home. Fortunately, we were very well prepared overall.

Did you face any technical issues while setting up your workstation?

No, only the S-Bahn ride with the monitor was a bit bulky.

Where have you set up?

My office is our bedroom. I have set up a workstation there.

What all do you need to be able to do your job?

My laptop and cell phone. Ideally, I'd also like to have my headphones, the Bose Quiet Comfort against yelling boys, and a second monitor so that I don't have to hang on to my laptop all day. We already use all the tools like Slack, Asana, our wiki and all the Google interfaces or VPN.

Is it difficult to separate yourself enough when the children are at home?

To be honest, I try to disappear into the study as much as I can. But it would be impossible without my wife, who is also working at home at the moment. In the worst case, the two boys just have to take the basketball to the sports field around the corner. In the evening at the latest, I go out into the woods behind the house.

With a bit of luck, it's still just about enough for jogging in the evening during daylight. Otherwise, we walk to the Goldenberg, where you can see wonderfully over the city.

Do you have home office experience or is this a first?

I already know this from before. But I usually like to be in the office, because that works better and more efficiently for me.

Based on initial experience: Which processes are difficult compared to the normal daily routine at the agency?

To be honest, I'm amazed at how well everything is working so far. However, the overall procedural effort is much higher. All the short questions and answers between meetings, for example, are no longer necessary. That all has to be done laboriously by call.

Which jobs go smoothly?

Everything, actually. But of course there is less chatting and laughing. Nevertheless, the mood is good.

Of course, you have to take enough time for meetings and do some nonsense.

Is there anything that even works easier or more productively in the home office?

The commute from Winti to Zurich is eliminated. I can currently use the additional 90 minutes wonderfully 😉

Should the home office phase last longer: What do they do to prevent the ceiling from falling on your head?

We really try to structure the week at home as best we can. In addition to school for the boys, there is also fun and outdoor sports, media time, but also crafts or reading during the week on the daily schedule. In this way, we try to make the days halfway meaningful. The most important thing, however, is to accept that chaos will still break out from time to time. We're all doing this for the first time, and I think our boys are doing a great job so far.

With hot glue, cutter and cardboard, our younger son builds a skate park for his fingerboards.

The taller one carves on a soapstone at his cell phone station.

What do you miss most about the physical day-to-day life at the agency?

Of course the whole team and the conversations at the coffee machine with Barbara and Martin.

As we all know, everything has its positive sides. What is it in your current home office situation?

First of all, I find the whole situation extremely depressing and sad. If you want to look on the bright side, I think that the whole "digital pressure refueling" that our industry and society are currently experiencing - since everyone practically only communicates and consumes digitally - will make our business and our society more viable for the future. But also the quality of meeting people physically somewhere on site will definitely be valued more in the future.

Looking down on the Cantonal Hospital from the balcony, you always realize that you are lucky to be able to work at home.