126553786_web1_Update-Sunday

Times Leader P.M. Update: Sunday, Feb. 28

College football super seniors could change fortunes in 2021

WILKES-BARRE — With her 18-year-old cat, Simba, keeping her company, Lynn Dobrowolski, program manager of the Policy Rating Team at Berkshire Hathaway GUARD, can look out the big window while at her home work station and enjoy the view.

Dobrowolski, 55 of Kingston, has been with the company for 32 years. She said when the nearly 1,000 employees of the downtown company were sent home to work almost one year ago, the expectation was that they would return to their new home on Public Square in short time.

A year later, Dobrowolski has settled into her new work environment, and Simba and a few other cats and a Pomerania named Nikki, serve as both companions and distractions — co-workers if you will — in an otherwise solitary workplace.

With Simba relaxing in a drawer beneath her computer, Dobrowolski now has an altered expectation on this “new normal” as it’s been called.

“We’re never going to walk back into the life we left,” she said. “It will be an adjustment when we return.”

When Dobrowolski began working from home, she said she worked off of her kitchen table. As the situation lingered, she said she moved to her dining room table, but that, too “got old.” Then as Christmas approached, she asked her boyfriend, Brett Shoemaker, who works out of the house at Button Oil, for a special present.

“Brett got me a new desk and chair and I moved into the family room,” Dobrowolski said.

In addition to the big window, the family room has a couch, a chair and a remodeled fireplace, not to mention a TV to keep an eye on the news of the day.

“This feels more permanent and comfortable,” she said. “I used to hate the term ‘new normal,’ but I think now we have to accept that.”

Dobrowolski said one of her biggest concerns in the beginning of the work from home “new normal” was managing her team.

“Our management style had to evolve along the way,” she said. “My team has stepped up and adapted very well. We have navigated this new world successfully.”

Dobrowolski said before the pandemic, the office environment was one of close quarters where people could hear and see each other. She has implemented a daily “stand-up meeting” where they ZOOM conference and go-over issues and discuss them. She said the meeting lasts about 15 minutes.

“When we do return to the office, we will continue the stand up meetings,” Dobrowolski said. “There have been challenges, but we have learned to work differently. We have embraced all the new technology, which is necessary and extremely helpful.”

And Dobrowolski added that her team has galvanized, becoming much closer through it all.

“And we don’t have to drive to work on days like this,” she said, referring to a recent snowstorm.

But there are a few cons to the “new normal.” Dobrowolski said she misses being in the city’s downtown and being able to leave the building to walk during her lunch break. She misses Public Square, and it’s events and restaurants like Thai Thai and Franklin’s/Rodano’s, and her favorite spot, Boscov’s, where she would walk around and browse.

“I miss the personal interaction — the conversation, the laughing, the listening,” she said.

“Being downtown for 32 years, yes, I miss it,” she said.

The local perspective

Elizabeth Hartman, assistant vice president of Marketing at Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies, said the company is “keeping our pulse” on the coronavirus rate of infection.

“We feel that the current downward trends are positive,” Hartman said. “If the current trends continue of increase in vaccinations and reductions in the spread of the coronavirus, we will consider a gradual phased approach to returning to the office.”

Hartman said that since employees have been able to work from home effectively, the company doesn’t feel a need to rush everyone back to the office.

“However, there is no doubt that the longer we work out of the office, there is an erosion of the company’s culture and operations,” Hartman said. “When we do open the office, we will follow all social distancing and hygiene protocols as necessary. We have already taken numerous steps such as installation of UV purification in our HVAC systems, location of workstations, traffic flow screening at time of building entry, etc.”

Anthony Matrisciano, who is in corporate communications at Highmark Health, said other than building maintenance and facilities staff, all of employees in the Wilkes-Barre office have been working from home since last March.

“We have told employees it is unlikely that any employees will return to an office environment before July of 2021,” Matrisciano said. “We have a team of doctors and other clinicians from our health plan side (Highmark) and our health system side (Allegheny Health Network) working daily to ensure that our employees are staying safe and can safely return to work.”

Matrisciano said the company is monitoring the pandemic closely in all of the areas where they have facilities in Pennsylvania (including Wilkes-Barre), West Virginia and Delaware.

“And we will continue to evaluate when it makes sense for our employees to safely return,” he said.

ZOOM is great, but …

Katie Kemmerer, regional community affairs manager at Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, said she had to deal with a mix of feelings when facing the work from home concept.

“At first, I really thought it would be one or two weeks or a month,” she said. “I never thought we would still be here a year later. There was a lot of uncertainty at first for sure.”

Kemmerer, 36 of Mountaintop, has been working from home since March 2020. She said a lot of her job put her out in the community, attending events, meetings and dinners.

“So I now had to transition to a job more based on sitting in front of a computer and doing everything virtually,” Kemmerer said. “And Highmark has made it easy for us to adapt.”

Kemmerer said she doesn’t miss having to drive down the mountain every day to work and back home, especially during bad weather.

“That saves time as well,” she said. “And it’s been really nice to connect with Highmark employees throughout Pennsylvania. ZOOM is great, but I do miss the personal interaction of my job.”

Kemmerer, who has been with Highmark for 15 years, said a major negative is that she misses seeing her co-workers and talking to them.

“Working from home is just not the same,” she said. “Hopefully soon we will be able to go back and return to the traditional office setting. What we have learned is that we have the ability to work virtually.”

Kemmerer said she often thinks about the downtown businesses and how the pandemic has impacted them.

”I think of the coffee shops and restaurants and parking lots,” she said. “There has had to be a lot of fallout from this.”

Kemmerer said a year has passed and the fear of COVID-19 continues.

“It’s been a scary time and continues to be,” she said. “Hopefully the vaccines will be administered and someday soon we will be able to return to some form of normalcy.”

Didn’t miss a beat

Bill Orasin, 33 of Forest City, is assistant vice president of Regulatory Compliance and State Filings at Berkshire Hathaway GUARD. He said the company was very fortunate to have had all the required technology in place before employees had to work from home.

“Actually, we had ZOOM meetings prior to the pandemic,” Orasin said. “Our employees easily transitioned to working from home. GUARD sent us home with all we needed to do our jobs from home. All I needed at home was electricity and the internet.”

Orasin said his daily round-trip commute totaled 96 miles — and he did that for 12 years working for GUARD.

”I don’t miss being on Interstate 81 every day and worrying about traffic, weather, wear and tear on the car, gas prices. All that was suddenly eliminated. And I’ve gained back two hours of every day and I use it more efficiently. I can get more done at the house and I have more free time.”

Orasin said working from home requires discipline. He said he puts in his time, but he has to pay attention to not work longer hours.

“Having a home and work life balance is important at GUARD,” he said. So I need to be more disciplined and walk away from my work station when it’s time to walk away.”

Orasin also misses the personal interactions of working in the office — he called it social creativity..

“I got a lot done when I would run into a co-worker in the office or a hallway and exchange creative ideas,” he said. “Those encounters spark conversation and creativity. Now we have to schedule a meeting and wait for confirmation.”

Orasin also misses the city’s downtown — he was a frequent customer of Circles on the Square and he enjoyed walking through the city.

“We’re not there to support the downtown businesses,” he said.

Working from home has its pros and cons and a cat named Simba