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Original poster

The positives of The covid pandemic.

211 replies

badgergirly · 03/02/2023 12:35

Thinking back to covid times/lockdown/the pandemic and what a horrendous time it was for many, losing loved ones, children losing their education and and generally a horrible time for the world, I'm curious to ask if anyone can take anything positive from it all?

Has life changed in anyway for you that's become a positive going forward?

My DH now works from home 50% of the time and can take out DC to school and pick up, something he would never been able to do prior to covid as he would have been in the office.

He was also able to take DC to nursery in lockdown/covid times.

We also had another baby last year, something I'm positive wouldn't have happened if covid hadn't have been present.

OP posts:
MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 03/02/2023 14:29

xogossipgirlxo · 03/02/2023 14:25

Yes! How naive I was thinking WFH is nice and pleasant. I hated it. Cats being needy, me being bored, hungry and lonely. Big no for me. I like working in the office.

Show quote history

I was straight back the moment I was told it was OK (August 2020). Quick commute compared to normal (often the only one in the tube carriage), my desk, my screens, my chair and a decent printer instead of trying to do my job from a crappy laptop sitting on the sofa. The difference in both mood and productivity was pretty much instant.

FuckoffeeBeforeCoffee · 03/02/2023 14:35

My husband's business really took off during the pandemic. That, coupled with saving like mad, has enabled us to pay off our mortgage.

I'm still WFH most of the time. I've been into the office a few times for a meeting, and then left straight after it. I've not spent a full day in an office for almost three years. I don't even have a desk anymore. I bloody love WFH.

FrenchandSaunders · 03/02/2023 14:40

Wfh permanently which I hated at first and now love it. Joined a gym and go lunchtimes with a friend who also wfh. No long commute.

DD was 17 in first lockdown and she had started going out drinking way too much, not telling us she wasn’t coming home, staying out and we didn’t know where she was. Huge worry.

Obv with lockdown she was home, and by the time lockdown was over and she was partying again, she had grown up a bit.

Interested in this thread?

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Covid-19
dariase · 03/02/2023 14:43

Sartre · 03/02/2023 14:07

Hmm, the positives of a global pandemic
that killed millions… Nope, not many.

Seems in poor taste to be honest.

PoopMaster · 03/02/2023 14:46

DH working from home now, and like OP we also had a post-Covid baby last year. For us I think spending more time as a family made us broody, whereas for others it might've had the opposite effect.

xogossipgirlxo · 03/02/2023 14:49

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 03/02/2023 14:29

I was straight back the moment I was told it was OK (August 2020). Quick commute compared to normal (often the only one in the tube carriage), my desk, my screens, my chair and a decent printer instead of trying to do my job from a crappy laptop sitting on the sofa. The difference in both mood and productivity was pretty much instant.

Show quote history

I changed jobs and went back to office in June 2021. Otherwise god knows when. I was really fed up at that point. I find it very isolating experience, and I'm not extrovert. It's just seeing the same surroundings 24/7 is very depressing for me.

Echobelly · 03/02/2023 14:54

For me, WFH most of the week is great.

DH had time to really work on DS with on his terrible handwriting and improve it massively. I do appreciate in a class of 30 it's hard to give the ones behind on writing the attention at a stage when most of the class is fine.

bakewellbride · 03/02/2023 14:56

I can't think of any positives

Allthegoodnamesarechosen · 03/02/2023 14:57

People don’t hug you the first time they meet you. Less kissing from random men, too ( always hated that).

Ivyleaguestoner · 03/02/2023 15:05

@Notsa wait, so you work 5 days a week and took your child out of school to homeschool now you're WFH. So how do homeschool your child and work a full time job?

DraftPunk · 03/02/2023 15:10

There’s only one positive - flexible working/working from home normalised.

Tidsleytiddy · 03/02/2023 15:13

Loved lockdown so much I decided to retire. Few toxic people I’ve never bothered with again.
So much happier now

AnotherWeekAnotherNamechange · 03/02/2023 15:15

Personally, I can't think of 1 single positive.

Notsa · 03/02/2023 15:24

Ivyleaguestoner · 03/02/2023 15:05

@Notsa wait, so you work 5 days a week and took your child out of school to homeschool now you're WFH. So how do homeschool your child and work a full time job?

No that was me not being clear - the youngest is at school full time now the pandemic is over. During COVID, when the school was shut he was home learning (but not EHE) and I was full time working from home.

Separately (and unrelated to COVID) I did EHE my eldest alongside working FT but that was a different scenario.

AllOutofEverything · 03/02/2023 15:30

Change to working from home is the only thing. Lots of negatives though.

Choconut · 03/02/2023 15:44

I loved it, ds is autistic and thrived at home, was able to do all sorts of courses in things that interested him because he got through his school work so quickly without all the distractions in class. The main road outside our house was so quiet, it was so peaceful everywhere. There was a lot of good weather and we spent loads of time in the garden, I put in strawberry and raspberry beds and dug a vegetable patch, we saved loads of money by just enjoying the garden rather than going anywhere else. DH worked from home and so was around all the time and didn't have a huge commute that cost a bomb in petrol - he's still WFH fulltime now which is brilliant.

If I could have another few months like that without a global pandemic then I happily would.

TallulahBetty · 03/02/2023 15:45

WFH is the norm. I work hybridly which is glorious.

ToriLynn · 03/02/2023 15:49

Got extended maternity leave twice due to furlough 🙌🙌

louise5754 · 03/02/2023 15:51

Not to sound like an ass but there was this exact same thread last week. It's still going.

Dinosaurdrip · 03/02/2023 15:51

We managed to save a deposit for a house and to buy our first home.
We were both working from home DH 100% of the time and me about 50%. Since covid more jobs in my field have become remote so I was able to get a fully remote job for a different trust which is brilliant.
DH also now WfH for a different company which is amazing especially now we have dc4 so he can do school runs for older dc and be on hand if I need any help with baby.

Deadringer · 03/02/2023 15:54

Main positive, eldest dd has returned from abroad to live with us. The pandemic made her feel very cut off from family.
Main negative, eldest dd has returned from abroad to live with us.

feellikeanalien · 03/02/2023 15:56

For me personally no. Life during lockdown was shit. I lost three very close family members. My life has only improved since it finished. Can actually get into the office for my volunteering and interact with real people. No interaction with adult humans apart from shopping was pretty grim.

I realise that for some people it had positives but as a single mum with a disabled DD it was crap.

Beamur · 03/02/2023 15:58

Homeschooling worked really well for us. DD needed a break from school and not attending for 6 months was great.
Quality time with the kittens we got before it all started - they weren't lockdown pets, just serendipity.
Finding out we could live harmoniously and peacefully as a family.
Enjoying a much slower pace of life. Which I haven't actually managed to change much since.
I don't miss commuting but I do miss working with other people as much.
I really didn't enjoy the anxiety and uncertainty.

MamaNell · 03/02/2023 16:05

I'm a chef and own a business so the pandemic was very stressful, opening and closing and constantly changing guidelines and lack of clear communication from Government. (Don't even get me started on Eat out to help out!)
It made me realise how much my livelihood depended both on a premises but also my physical body. So I've retrained in something I've always wanted to do and now have a role that I can from home if needed. I would never have done it if I hadn't had the time at home or the kick up the bum to seize the moment

TheFormidableMrsC · 03/02/2023 16:12

For me it was positive in some ways as I was diagnosed with cancer 3 days before lockdown. I had to travel between hospitals for a while and quite honestly an empty M25 was brilliant. Had no issues parking. It made me walk more seriously and I now walk around 40 miles a week. I found places where I live that I didn't know existed.

I also really enjoyed the socially distanced nights with neighbours on our shared driveway. It gave us something to look forward to and we all made an effort. Spent less money, hardly drove the car. My autistic child enjoyed online learning and thrived. What I hated was the second lockdown in the middle of winter, that was hard going. I hated not being able to see my Dad who lives far from me and not seeing extended family. I do look back on it and think how surreal the whole experience was.

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