However, the concept CBS@Home is designed to deliver many more activities and events. Therefore, Marie Pade, Communications Advisor and Charlotte Autzen are encouraging staff and students to email ideas for events and initiatives to be run as part of CBS@Home, and music requests have already been forwarded, explains Marie Pade.

“We are looking into what’s possible in terms of musical content, under the current conditions. We also want to produce a series of webinars that can enlighten and inspire people during this situation. For example, we have many researchers who know a lot about the work environment and have specifically studied the effects of the pandemic, so maybe they can share their knowledge with the rest of us,” she says and explains that this is something CBS’ so-called “Corona Team” will be looking into next year.

Cancellation upon cancellation

The idea for creating what later became CBS@Home started in the early autumn, when most CBS employees were back on campus, explains Charlotte Autzen.

“I remember getting a feeling of only seeing things being cancelled. Cancellation after cancellation. We started talking about what we could do to give employees something other than cancellations. And from there, the idea just seemed to grow,” says Charlotte Autzen and continues:

“I don’t know how long the concept will continue, and I have my fingers crossed that we can return to CBS soon, but being realistic, we probably won’t near normalization for another six months or so.”

As the concept needed content, according to Marie Pade, it made a lot of sense to go looking for help among CBS’ many, many student organizations, explains Marie Pade.

“The students are not employed by CBS, but they also struggle with working from home, so of course they should benefit from this as well, and then it was a great opportunity to involve the student organizations. They can help us to help ourselves, as well as getting a little PR boost, now that all of their usual activities are on hold as well,” she says.

Together apart

When participating in the yoga sessions, coming webinars and other events, employees will still be at home, alone. And maybe with their cameras and microphones off. So how exactly will the concept and planned activities work as organizational glue?

“I hope this will spark conversations across departments and fields and will give us something we can all relate to that is not all about solving tasks and assignments. Yes, we are still apart, but maybe after the yoga sessions, people will talk about how much fun it was, or that they had not tried yoga before. So, I hope these events can give us something to talk about,” says Charlotte Autzen.

Marie Pade hopes that CBS@Home can create some happiness in uncertain times.

“I hope that it will create a feeling of togetherness and that it can be a consolation in terms of the things we are missing out on – especially the things that should bring us together. I really hope that the entire organization will want to play along and experiment with us on this,” she says.

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