Stepping off the Brown Line at Merchandise Mart and entering that big building to be welcomed by a new day of work, with the same-old routine. That’s probably what you’d think to hear when you think of an intern working at a start-up company, but ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, that just isn’t the case anymore. A Clutch survey found that “before the coronavirus pandemic, 17% of U.S. employees worked from home 5 days or more per week. Now, that number is up to 44%”(Kristen Herhold, Clutch). Although Official Ritual didn’t exist prior to the pandemic, the employees still take part in that 44% of US workers. So instead of walking into an office space, Official Ritual employees open up their computers and get to create their own ritual that isn’t confined to the space of an office building.

As I open my computer in the comfort of my Chicago apartment, I open up the Slack application and check for any new messages from my supervisor or others in the company while drinking a big cup of coffee that definitely needs more sugar. I usually wake up to no messages, but will get some throughout the day. The work that I do on a day-to-day basis is dependent on the project I am working on. Over the time of my internship, I have been asked to do lots of market research on real estate properties(i.e. apartment buildings) that have spaces where we could hold our events. These research projects take about a month for me to complete, so I tend not to get new assignments often.

When working on my research, I’ll be jumping from tab to tab, getting new information for the requirements set for me by my supervisor, most important of all: a sizable amenity space for the wellness rituals to take place. Calling every apartment building that I find that day gives me better insight on the amenity spaces as well as begins the relationships between Official Ritual and the specified real estate property. Before I end my day, I contact my supervisor through Slack to report on the progress of my current project, as well as my plans for the next day.