Starting a New Job Is Hard. Starting a New Job in a Pandemic Is Even Harder

When Tyrone Graham got hired at his previous job in 2016, an office administrator squired him through his new company’s gleaming London offices. He was introduced to colleagues and shown his desk, various conference rooms, and the coffee machine that ground fresh beans and steamed milk for each cup.

Last month, on his first day in a new position at another company, Graham sat alone in his son’s bedroom at a desk he’d made from damp timber he found in the shed the day before. Coffee? His 10-year-old occasionally popped his head in to offer a cup of tea.