A day in the life of a furloughed pottery specialist
It's 2020 and nothing is quite the same as it was! My usual place of work is home with set days in the company office, but I have been furloughed throughout the lockdown with the boxes of pottery left in my office, door closed, completely ignored (except by the spiders, I am not looking forward to several months of cobwebs). So what does a pottery specialist do with their days when they can't work on pottery? Pre-pandemic I would have been writing about whichever assemblage was currently ruling my work programme, about conference papers in preparation, or have been busy composing something in collaboration with my ASE colleagues.....
Being furloughed actually came as a relief, as after weeks of stress trying to fit in work, and childcare, and homeschooling when the nursery and school are closed I could finally decompress and breathe. I am very grateful that my employer took the furlough option as soon as it arose and wish that others who are struggling were offered this option.
As I am furloughed I cannot undertake any work for my employer, so what is a day in archaeology for me at the moment? My structured working routine my have been removed, however since I first started working in commercial archaeology I have volunteered alongside my day job. Whilst being furloughed, this volunteering has proved itself invaluable in enabling me to feel engaged in archaeology and to continue to push for the changes we need within the profession. Most weeks I have managed to find half an hour or so to take part in short online CPD, webchat, special interest group meeting or webinar opportunities provided by our archaeological community - it has been really inspiring to see how the community has reached out and adapted their ways of engagement.
Campaigning for change and an acknowledgement within the archaeological profession that we have a problem with Equality and Diversity has been something that I have long been engaged in, and I had been due to present a paper detailing the results of my recent work surveying experiences of bullying and harassment within the profession on behalf of the BAJR Respect Campaign at the European Association of Archaeologists conference in Budapest. As with all other gatherings this was cancelled but technology has come into its own during this pandemic, and I have been warming up for presenting this virtually by conducting my first zoom webinar on this project for a CIfA workshop.
I believe passionately in the importance of mentoring and development of all archaeologists and today's first piece of engagement, via social media and pre school run, was to arrange for the CIfA Finds Group to host one of the next chat rooms at the next CIfA 'Tea room chat'. This will enable a range of people to talk to those currently in the roles about how to become a specialist, and exploring options in these particularly challenging and uncertain times. This afternoon I managed to hold a really positive conversation around a voluntary project for students to work alongside commercial archaeologists exploring the role of professional ethics. This evening I am trying to write this blog! Small achievements that nevertheless help me to feel connected I will admit, however, that some weeks of furlough have flown past in a blur of 'what have I actually done this week' with anxiety and bouts of insomnia brought on by the uncertainty faced personally and as a profession.
In so many ways being on furlough is much more demanding than anticipated. I miss my colleagues, I miss the excitement of starting a new assemblage and opening the first bag of pottery, I even miss the buzz of meeting crazy short deadlines that can come with commercial work. I fear for the future of our profession with the big challenges we face, yet I feel encouraged by the tenacity and determination I have witnessed from colleagues across the sector. Those cobwebs in my office are on borrowed time, this specialist is ready to come back!