Two years ago, I became a proud pyjama-collar worker.

It is challenging to decide what was the worst thing during the pandemic. Social isolation? Seeing kids abandoned by the school system? The manifold unravellings of failed investments into government services? Who needs digitalised schools in the digital age anyway, right? I could go on endlessly. So the trick is positive thinking. Please do not judge me too quickly; I will not give a lecture on mindfulness. But I am convinced there were some nuggets of gold hidden in this pandemic. Well, at least for me.

Five hundred four hours less road rage!

So what was positive then? Family life! I am so grateful to have had so much time with my wife and kid. We even turned the latter into the plural: Yes, it is kids now. Except for six working days, I worked 100% from home from late February 2020 until I started my paternity leave in July 2021. That means I saved at least two hours of daily commuting. With roughly 252 working days a year on average in Germany, that amounts to 504 hours of my life during the first twelve months. Instead of fighting against the daily urge to road rage, I spent that time with people dear to me. That means I had 21 days to turn my daughter into a Star Wars fan and shoot her superhero action movies, among other things. All the while, I learned all the new skills needed to do that.

I am a proud pyjama-collar worker.

Again, please do not get me wrong. Homeschooling is no kindergarten fun (pun intended). I am not a teacher or social worker trained to support kids’ learning. All I could do was help my daughter as good as possible and not screw up her education on the way. But it is an opportunity to grow together. And both of us could start our Mondays in our pyjamas for quite a while. That is until schools and workplaces finally figured out how to make video calls possible. Yes, the pandemic turned me not into a blue-collar or white-collar but a pyjama-collar worker. And I am proud to admit.