During the coronavirus crisis, there are plenty of smart professionals at VUB. But working at VUB is now mainly working for VUB but from home. What’s the reality of the switch from workplace to homeworking? How do we deal with the blurring of boundaries between work and life?
Recognise these situations? We asked our VUB colleagues how they are getting on with the new reality of homeworking. With an eye on best practice, they shared their surprising tips and tricks. Click here to find all their stories.
Patrick Vanroose
Patrick has worked at VUB for 13 years. First as a technological expert in civil engineering, and for the past five years as the environmental and prevention expert in the PRMI service. He is the father of Lisa (22), Laura (20) and Sara (six). Patrick lives in Schoofslaan, opposite the VUB kots, and looks after his youngest daughter, who is in her first year of school, part-time.
His homeworking base? To begin with, there was a bit of searching for the right spot. Because Sara live with Patrick half of the time, he first set up in his office upstairs. But the sun shone on his screen and so he had to draw the curtains. That was depressing. And the wifi signal there wasn’t good enough for online sessions, so he retreated to the living room. Next to his balcony, with a VUB flag behind him and our motto ‘Scientia Vincere Tenebras’ above. In these strange times, that’s taken on a special meaning.
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Sick, but two lucky accidents
Soon after the safety measures were introduced, Patrick became sick himself. Because the doctor couldn’t say with certainty whether it was flu or the coronavirus, he had to isolate for 14 days.
“Normally I have to look after my daughter Sara. But then I was sick and it was impossible. Her mum had to go to work. Who would look after Sara? By coincidence one day, through fear of taking the metro, her mum cycled to work. An inattentive driver on Kroonlaan opened their door without checking, Ramona crashed into it and broke her elbow. Result: a month at home, and yes, Sara could stay with her. It’s sweet how she looks after her mum. She said a few months ago that she wanted to be a doctor with the Red Cross so she could help people!”
Patrick also has glaucoma and had a hospital appointment, which couldn’t go ahead because of his illness. “Luckily the hospital itself cancelled all non-urgent appointments.”
Normally I look after my daughter Sara part-time. But now I was sick and couldn’t take care of her
In quarantine, you know your friends
Patrick was sick for the first two weeks, and wasn’t able to go out to do grocery shopping. There wasn’t enough food in the house, and he needed urgent medication. Luckily, he was able to count on a couple of good friends. Patrick: “Danielle and Christine took it in turns. Because I have a balcony that looks out on to the street, we found a good system of getting the shopping upstairs. I pulled the bags up on a rope.”
And in turn, Patrick has been able to help others. “From that same balcony, I saw my colleague Koen from the medical services. His electric bike had broken. I was able to help him by lowering a Voltmeter on a rope and gave him technical support from a distance. Now I’ve recovered, I take Danielle’s dog Max out for her, because my friend isn’t able to walk such a big dog.”
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Volunteering on hold
In his daily life, Patrick is socially engaged. Every two weeks he donates plasma, alternating between Red Cross Flanders and Red Cross Belgium. Patrick: “Did you know that Flemings never get Brussels or Walloon blood, and vice versa, unless you’re in UZ Brussel? But that has now stopped.”
On Fridays, he normally goes out with the Red Cross to supply clothes and blankets to homeless people. That has now stopped too. And he’s also a paramedic.
“Today I find that too high a risk: we come into close contact with people and don’t have protective equipment. Because I’m trilingual, they asked if I would staff the 1710 helpline. But even that you can only do in a room with other people, and I would have to take the metro to get there. First and foremost I have to stay healthy so I can take responsibility for my daughter, so I had to say no. I would only have been able to do it at the weekend in any case, on days when I didn’t have my daughter.”
Schoolwork and writing tasks
The first week of the lockdown, Patrick was bombarded with emails from his daughter’s school. “It was really overkill. Parents were asked to go to pick up the children’s books from school. Which I couldn’t do, because I was sick and essentially under house arrest. Last weekend I was finally able to go by bike to pick up Sara’s things. Everything was nicely laid out on a table in plastic bags. The school now has a Facebook book where they share tasks.”
Following Sara’s mum’s accident, Patrick has found another fun way to keep up her writing tasks, and to help at the same time:
“I let Sara write a shopping list and then I deliver everything to Ramona. For the things she finds it too difficult to write, Sara has come up with her own smart solution: she sends me a photo of the packaging on WhatsApp.”
Sometimes we walk in the park with Max. Then Sara can enjoy riding her bike. And with such a beast of a dog it’s easy to keep your distance.
I miss my family
Patrick’s mum lives alone and doesn’t have a computer. Patrick: “Luckily one of her grandchildren is a final-year medical student; Katrien takes care of her. My two oldest daughters are still young but they prefer to chat with sound and no pictures. Do they have something to hide? I call my youngest every day for a video chat. I miss her right now, but I’m on leave in the second week of the Easter vacation and then I’m all hers. She was registered for a stage but that’s no longer happening. Sometimes we walk in Woluwe park with Max and she can enjoy riding her bike. And with such a beast of a dog, it’s easy to keep the necessary distance from people.”
Patrick’s tips
- Walking the dog helps you make social contacts, at a safe distance
“In Woluwe park there are two places where you can let the dog off the lead. One day Max – a French mastiff – ran off. And that’s how I bumped into a woman with a Malinois, which Max managed to bring back. Thanks to our chat at a safe distance, I learned that she had studied at VUB!”
- Try to let off steam in time
“This situation is putting a lot of pressure on couples and families. The partner of a friend had had enough after a couple of weeks; after 13 years together she drew a line under the relationship and moved out.”
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JOIN IN the VUB research. The research group TOR at Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the research bureau hbits are investigating the social consequences of the coronavirus crisis. We’re working in a different way, schools and most shops are closed and public life has ground to a halt. What are the consequences of this for your daily life? Take part in the research and tell us how your daily life has changed via www.dagelijksleven.eu
Read also the article of professor Ignace Glorieux: Life in a time with no fixed times.