This is Cooper, a 2.5 year old CockerPoo. A CockerPoo is a mix of a Cocker Spaniel and a Poodle. Smart but at teh same time very energetic. This dog in particular needs a lot of love. Early mornings he comes to the side of my bed to see if I’m awake yet. The whole day, he wants to be close to me, and lays at my feet while I work from home.
In his world, I’m his best friend. He has not a lot of other people in his world. His big brother Auggie sometimes gets annoyed with him, as Cooper always wants to get all the attention. If I call Auggie to hug him, Cooper desperately comes to seek attention.
Cooper sits in the window, waiting for the rest of the family to get home. Our 4 kids love him, but Cooper would like them to play more often with him.
As the kids are busy with friends, sports and homework, sometimes Cooper gets bored. On his morning walk, he is able to socialize with other dogs in the park.
The world of Cooper is limited to the home he knows.
Working from Home since Covid
Since the outbreak of the Covid, I’ve been working from home. First it was mandatory, while we were dealing with all the lock downs. The last 2.5 years, in new job in The Netherlands, it was practically the only option.
Working from Home makes your world smaller. I have missed the office culture, the small talk over a coffee or lunch with other smart people around. While working from home, every chat or meeting is a video call in an outlook invite. It’s just not the same speaking to a face on a screen over a Teams meeting.
One of the biggest advantages working in an office environment, is having the ability to jump in a meeting room with a white board to discuss an idea or open issue. You get to a resolution or decision very quickly, while having dedicated time for small talk too build a company culture.
Happy New Year 2024
In the New year, I want to go back to a more personal interaction working model. Somewhere where I can find inspiration, share jokes and stories about life, complain about the weather or get the latest Netflix recommendation, which I will never be able to watch.
Cooper will be sad if I return to a day-to-day out of the home working habit. At the same time, I will be extgra happy to return home and cuddle with this love bug.
LET’S GO 2024!