It’s “Take Your Kids to Work Day”! Every . . . single . . . day.
© doble-d/ iStock

Old Sayings for New Work Habits

Coined in 2000, it’s trending again—WFH, “working from home.” For years, Big Business has replaced leisurely language with speed-talking code. As in “FYI, the CEO wants the YTD P&L ASAP!” Now, as many offices remain closed, the busyness of business-speak has followed us home.

Soon we’ll be talking about doing WTMW (way too much work) from our HSHO (home, sweet home office). We’ll care for BFMs & APs (beloved family members and adorable pets) while managing the NEHC (never-ending household chores). But before we get to the PONR (point of no return), let’s consider a different kind of WFH—Wisdom From History.

Long ago, every culture “created shareable content” in the form of proverbs.  Somehow our pre-Internet ancestors “forwarded” these proverbs around the world. These global memos covered every topic—including work—in witty language that still hits home. And gee, since we’re home anyway, working, it’s only logical that we give their insights on that subject a fresh look.

Oh, I see: Old proverbs from around the world have new relevance for employees who are working from home. Here are some favorites. (And for those of you who miss viewing cute cat pictures at the office, we’ve got you covered.)

Ah, to be out of the cubicle, with no supervisor breathing down one’s neck…
guvo59/ Pixabay

Rise ‘n Shine Get Online!

My search for proverbs extolling the benefits of sleeping late prompted a rude awakening: “Opportunity does not wake up those who are asleep” (Senegalese), “The hungry fowl wakes early” (Jamaican), “The world belongs to early risers” (French).

Fortunately, an Italian proverb notes that, “Those with a reputation for rising early may sleep until noon.” Aha! An early example of establishing your brand while building in downtime. My favorite? “Good luck beats early rising,” the traditional Irish equivalent of hitting the snooze alarm in hopes that you’ve won the lottery.

But as the Albanian proverb says, “If your neighbor is an early riser, you too will become one,” a sentiment to which every WFH apartment dweller can relate. So rise, if not shine, and do as the Sicilians do—”Drink coffee while it’s hot enough to swear.”

Historically, work began with tools. For WFH, this means coffee.
quinntheislander/ Pixabay

Business Casual, Fashion Casualty

In France, there’s a saying for when you put a button in the wrong buttonhole: boutonner lundi avec mardi, literally, “to button Monday with Tuesday.” Working from home during a pandemic, many of us mix up our days—Blursday? Whenday? Whyday?—and our office attire, too.

Oh, we still maintain standards. Like dressing up for a Zoom meeting by adding a tailored blazer to a clean (well, cleanish) pajama top. OK, OK, we make “casual Fridays” at the office seem like New York’s fashion gala at the Met.

“Do these socks make me look too formal?”

But as the Spanish proverb reminds us, “A monkey dressed in silk is still a monkey,” so hey, let’s not confuse looking professional with being professional. On the other hand, “No skunk ever smells its own stink,” said the Thai. While they were probably referring to misdeeds, it’s a useful reminder that taking a shower should occur more frequently than the quarterly reports.

Corner Office, Meet Kitchen Corner

Working from home means adapting. Office equipment? Supply cabinets laden with tempting piles of binder clips? Gone!

Ergonomic seating? Hah! Never have so many dining room chairs caused so much discomfort to so many for so long. Numb Bum Syndrome is no laughing matter, people, so don’t make us the butt of your jokes.

Still, “A good plowman”—or in corporate parlance, Managing Director of Plowable Assets—”can plow even with a goose,” according to Lithuanian folk wisdom. Which is why, come Online Meeting Time, we oh-so-professionally place our laptops on a stack of cookbooks, shove the dirty dishes out of view, and quickly run the nearest salad fork through our hair.

“Has anyone seen the dining room table? I can’t find it anywhere.”
stevepb/ Pixabay

A Zoom of One’s Own

According to ancient Chinese wisdom, “two tigers cannot share one mountain.” Likewise, two or more family members cannot always share one WiFi. One parent’s in a meeting, the other’s doing a tele-med consult with a patient, the kids are logging on for school, Grandma’s on TikTok, and the dog’s tracking device is updating your app about which part of the yard he’s digging up.

Who knew that one day we’d miss the IT manager, the same grouch who answered every request with, “Are you sure the computer’s plugged in?”

          1990s: WFH conference by phone. (L)    2020: WFH conference on Zoom. (R) 
photosforyou/Pixabay

Power Naps and Proverbs

When working from home, staying focused can be challenging. Especially at times when, as German folk wisdom says, “The misery is that you have to ruin your day with work.” Like sunny days. Or rainy, snowy, windy, foggy, or other days. As Anonymous once sighed, “Whoever invented work must not have had anything else to do.”

For procrastinators, “Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week” (Spain). You might justify that power nap by reminding your Significant Other that “The pillow is the best advisor” (Sweden). See? You’re not being lazy—you’re seeking council and gaining clarity! Why it’s practically a corporate retreat!

However, your S.O. may counter with an old Turkish saying: “Without effort, there is no food.” Hard to argue with that . . .

. . .especially when you’re the one who ate all the snacks.
skorchanov/ Pixabay

So you might as well get started. Work smarter, not harder, or as the Kashmiri once said, “Try to benefit enormously from small efforts.” Take breaks, but remember, “A person always breaking off from work never finishes anything” (Nigeria). Instead, “Put a stout heart to a stey brae (steep hill),” (Scotland), because “Money grows on the tree of persistence” (Japan).

Don’t rush: “A work ill done must be done twice” (Wales). And if a new task intimidates you, remember: “The work will teach you how to do it” (Estonia).

Also, don’t keep hitting the escape key. I tried it, but I’m still at work.

Our Ancestors Meant Business

In summary, as you adapt to working from home, employ the new wisdom in old proverbs from around the world: Be gracious to WFH colleagues in remote locations, because “Over a distance of a thousand miles, only humanity works, not power” (Chinese). A far-flung but networked team can work wonders. After all, “When spiderwebs unite, they can tie up a lion” (Ethiopia).

Oh, and one more thing. When working from home, NEVER, EVER confuse your boss’s Zoom Check-In with your buddy’s Zoom Happy Hour. As the old German proverb says, “Schnapps is schnapps, business is business.” Cheers!

NSFW: Not Suitable For Work (or cats!)

More WFH humor: See BBC News interview an expert working from home, here. Then watch the New Zealand parody, here.

They worked like dogs—the boss conducted their performance review on Zoom! Watch here.

Comment on the post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.