Since COVID, many have found a balance of home working and office work that increases productivity and decreases travel time and allows a little flexibility in terms of working hours. Personally, I have found that I feel better at home, with no stress of the travel time to meet with clients. There were constant restrictions based on the fact that I went to visit my clients in one town and then had to schedule another meeting maybe 40 minutes away. I lost valuable time ‘waiting around’ having no time to return to the office or home between lessons. I felt a great obligation to arrive on time and relaxed for my next client so that I could provide them with the great service that they deserve.
When my car breaks down or my teenager is sick, there is no restriction! My teen is self sufficient but I need to be at home (I am sure most of you can relate)! I am still very much capable of taking my lessons in a dedicated space and see my students without risking contaminating others, and eventually, their families. This leads to a more regular, uninterrupted attendance at lessons allowing faster and more cohesive learning. As for my car, it can wait! I felt that students who continued to have their lessons with me when they couldn’t be available at the office (sometimes because they had decided to take a day of home office) were much more relaxed and followed our learning path much better and eventually led to more effective outcomes.
Having a training provider come to the office or the house also puts restrictions on you as a learner because many of us have more meetings in the day and welcoming someone between these meetings can be complicated. You need to ensure the lesson starts and finishes punctually and that the provider has come and gone before you need to be available at your next meeting.
From experience, I have also witnessed many issues with booking meeting rooms and actually hosting the trainer at the office. It is never a certainty that a ‘more important’ meeting will not take precedence over your personal development and the lesson could be lost. I found also that curious colleagues popped in from time to time or unintentionally made my learner feel ‘under the microscope’. Online, people just see that you are in a meeting and don’t feel so curious to ‘listen in’ and see what is happening.
I am sure that we are all individuals with different requirements and feelings around the benefits of the online lessons, but we all have one thing in common, which is the need to feel at ease and comfortable in our learning environment. For some, the idea of online may be a step too far but for most, it is the logical solution to being more available, confident and relaxed.
Vicki McBurney (article 2 of 5)
14th April 2026