Marie on the work of the administration

We, like everyone else, follow the request to work from home. Of course, it is possible for us to do this to a very large extent, even if it is a new situation. Basically, everyone already has the technical equipment such as computers and telephones, and we are working to upgrade what is needed for everything to work out well.

All the usual contact details and means of contact still apply when it comes to e-mail and telephone numbers. You can find them here: intra.kth.se/en/cbh/skolans-organisation/administration/kontakt-verksamhetsstod-cbh-skolan

If you should not receive an answer the usual way or do not know whom to turn to, you can always contact:

service@cbh.kth.se
info@cbh.kth.se

We guarantee that the two addresses above are monitored daily. This applies to all matters and to all campuses. We are a number of people who can monitor these addresses and help to answer and solve the issues, or re-direct them.

Work and education shall be carried out remotely, but KTH’s activities shall continue in the normal way. An equation that can feel like a challenge for us all. For the operational support, it is perfectly possible to carry out a great deal of work remotely. KTH and we at CBH have already jointly worked out different solutions for the work to function as smoothly as possible in spite of the circumstances, and as new issues arise, we try to find pragmatic solutions that can work during this special period. E.g. routines for undersigning, etc.

As said, business as usual but in an unusual way. The great challenge as I see it is trying to maintain a normal everyday life.

As I wrote above, work tasks can be solved remotely in many cases (however, absolutely not all), but then you can reallocate to other work tasks. What we take for granted, and maybe not always think about, is the important social part that the workplace plays for the vast majority of us. The everyday routines. The journey from home to the workplace. The clear distinction between being at work and being at home. It provides solid routines. The chitchat with colleagues at the coffee break, a hello in the corridor. The feeling of being needed and being of use.

I remember the feeling I had when I, a little over 3 years ago, was forced to stay at home due to an operation and subsequent treatments. Of course, the disease disrupted my life but the strangest thing was not being able to go to work as usual. I longed to sit in a traffic jam on a rainy Monday morning. I longed to go to KTH B to buy a salad. I longed to sit at long, chatty meetings. I nearly longed for someone to be angry with me, a bit like the matador in Ferdinand: “Gore me!”. 

Thankfully, I see that many nice initiatives have already been taken, such as digital group meetings and managers staying in contact with their co-workers. I receive images of workplaces at home (with and without cats) and many groups have started with “Zoom fika”, etc. In the time ahead, CBH News will come out more frequently and there will be good examples and reports on “working from home”.

Take care of yourselves, everyone and do not hesitate to make contact with us in the operational support if there is anything we can assist you with.

Marie Larsson

Head of administration, CBH