Governor Phil Murphy’s stay-at-home order issued because of the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly forced the melding of domestic and 
professional lives, often yielding some surprising results. This is part of an ongoing series.
Rattled cats and dueling conversations between kitchen and dining room offices
Ayesha Hamilton, a New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) trustee and a business and employment attorney in Princeton, has been riding out the order at her new home office—the kitchen table.
That wouldn’t be so bad, except her husband works at the dining room table, and there’s no door between the rooms.
“It’s been a comedy of errors. Often we have these competing teleconferences,” Hamilton said. “I looked into whether I could work upstairs, but the internet connection is not as good.”
Fortunately, Hamilton’s workload has been heavy since the state was ordered on lockdown. She’s been getting a lot of phone calls from companies that want guidance on how to handle layoffs, unemployment eligibility and clarification on how the Families First Coronavirus Response Act will affect them.
Hamilton said she is at an advantage because she has always worked remotely with her paralegal, bookkeeper and marketing consultant. And while she recently upgraded her office computer, she regrets deciding to use an iPad as her home computer.
Overall, Hamilton said she’s adjusted to working from home, even with the whole family under one roof 24/7, though the two cats seem a little rattled by the disruption to the normal household rhythm.
And since she and her husband are no longer driving their 16-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter to after-school activities, they spend more time taking walks and cooking meals together.
“It’s particularly hilarious, because I’ve developed this reputation as being a terrible cook,” she said. “Now I have time to actually follow a recipe, so there’s an upside to the social distancing.”