Guest Blog - Sarah Thorp

Green Light's Finance Assistant on adjusting to working remotely...

It was such a shock…”grab your laptop...here’s a phone...you’re working from home from tomorrow!” 

Ahhh! What to do? Find a box, throw all of the useful bits in, including the beloved coffee mug that says ‘I support Watford...this is the only cup that they’ll get this year’; best Secret Santa present ever…..oh football I do miss you. I digress... the calculator, the files, the notepads….

Green Light's office in Newquay

But hold on.  The PM is saying it’s OK to go to a horse racing meeting attended by thousands but I’m being sent home to work?  Surely it’s too soon?

Green Light's office & admin team are operating remotely until lock down ends

How wrong he was and how wrong I was.  Thank goodness that this amazing company that I work for is so forward-thinking and caring and put good practice in place at the optimum time so that we were all one step ahead of the game.  

I admit I cried, cried at the thought of not seeing my lovely colleagues every day, of making my own coffee (hubby is furloughed now so that isn’t a worry any more!), and the immense anxiety of the whole Covid-19 situation.  I was also very scared.  Scared that I couldn't create a manageable workspace at home, scared that I couldn’t carry out my daily duties from my dining room table, and that somehow I would be cut off from the daily Green Light life.

Nearly 6 weeks on and of course it’s all fine.  It turns out that it is possible to carry out my daily duties from anywhere.  Morning video calls with the payroll and finance team ensures that everyone is OK and up to speed.  Hangout chat with my partner in crime has made us closer than ever. 

Suppliers are paid, bank accounts reconciled, and being part of a company that is managing to continue to support our customers so well during these unprecedented times makes every day better than the last.

Sarah Thorp

Finance Assistant