Lessons from Covid-19 pandemic: WFH is more, programmed, says Zia Mody

The new work life

Earlier, a large part of my day included meeting clients in relation to different aspects: strategy, fire-fighting, business development, et cetera. Now, the crisis meetings are on Zoom but strategic meetings have taken a backseat. Most of my time is now directed towards making sure that all the duct points are well-coordinated, the teams stay motivated and the uncertainty of it all is managed properly. 

New habits

I started with some yoga and walking but that petered out. I spend a lot of time on my home office desk now, but maybe I’ll go back to those initial habits. There are the more structured routines, however: the 3 pm lunch and the 10 pm dinner, which is the dedicated family time.

The big change with WFH

We’re still doing all our meetings but it’s just online. I must have participated in 20 webinars over the past few months. The big difference is you can’t use stagecraft in these meetings. Also gone are the repartees, the quick jokes and the engagement with the audience. It’s more formal, more programmed.  

The surprise learnings

The major surprise has been the fact that WFH has lasted for so long, with the majority of lawyers stepping up to the challenge. I started out feeling melancholy, thinking efficiency might suffer but it didn’t. For instance, the  deals involving Reliance Jio – first Facebook and later Google – with over 10 investors in between were done virtually from start to finish. There wasn’t a single physical meeting in four months. The availability of lawyers internally was, in a way, more efficient.