As the coronavirus sweeps the nation and closes workplaces across the county, many workers are discovering the home office.

Holly Furman of Butler teaches music through May's Music Shoppe in Butler, but like many of the schools and colleges in the state, she's moved her lessons online.

“The students are excited to do it,” Furman said. “With school not happening, they're looking for something to do.”

Furman said she uses video calls to teach her students. She said she had to adapt her lessons to incorporate the new medium, and she had to temper her habits.

“You have to cope with the fact that you can't see their hand, and you can't correct their technique,” she said.

But Furman said she is learning that the online approach could prove useful, even outside the pandemic. She said she could use it to teach additional lessons to her students who live farther away from Butler.

“I don't think I'll replace person-to-person ever, but I think supplementing it with video chat could be a good advantage for me too,” she said.

Fontaine Graham of Butler works as a sales associate for Voltus, a demand response company.

“I have a desk at home by the window,” Graham said. “I have some fur critters to keep me busy and company. They're my coworkers currently.”

She said while her cats and dogs comfort her, they can't help her with her work like her human coworkers can.

“I think one of the difficult things is not having teammates there with you,” Graham said. “If you ask a question you have to make a call or send an email instead of walking over to their desk.”

Graham said 90 percent of her company-operated remotely before, but she was one of the few who commuted to the company's Pittsburgh office.

“I felt our company was doing it for the health of our employees and putting us first,” Graham said. “It was actually a good out of the bad knowing that they care.”

JW Johnson, who works for Cranberry Township, said both he and his wife have had to adjust working at home simultaneously.

Johnson said he defers their office space to his wife and has created his own temporary work station.

“I just set up a couple of tables in the basement in front of my Xbox, which is kind of tempting,” Johnson said. “I don't need much other than my laptop to do my job.”

Johnson said working remotely certainly accomplishes social distancing.

“Not being around people right now is definitely the benefit,” Johnson said.

He said his main concern about working from home is motivation and focus, but so far after only a couple of days of trial, he has managed well.

“I've been in constant contact with my coworkers,” Johnson said. “We keep adding work on, which is good. It's even been a little bit busier given the situation.”

Stephanie Wilczynski of Butler works as a benefits verification specialist for ConnectiveRx.

Wilczynski said waves of employees were sent home with a laptop, a monitor and other equipment with the expectation that they were not to return until it was safe.

“They started sending people out in phases,” she said. “It's all been over the computer, but my management has been awesome at responding to emails or phone calls.”

She said her main concern is whether her family's Wi-Fi setup will withstand herself, her parents and her brother, all using the internet for work.

While she has her concerns, Wilczynski said she feels much safer at home, and there's an opportunity to be more productive.

“I'm really happy to be able to stay at home to not get infected by others to not possibly infect others if that's a possibility,” Wilczynski said.

While many may be experiencing remote working for the first time, some are experienced professionals at being remote professionals.

Freelancer Gael Gilliland has worked from home for the past 10 years, and she also owns ConnectWork on Main, a shared office space where people can work remotely.

While the cowork is closed to new members at the moment, Gilliland said people may see the value in remote work after going through the pandemic.

“Now it's going to be really relevant,” Gilliland said. “Companies who weren't willing or ready to adapt to remote working, they're being forced into it.”

When not working out of the cowork office, Gilliland works at home. She said the only difference since the coronavirus struck is having her kids at home throughout the day.

“I structure around what they need,” Gilliland said. “I can get a solid three hours of uninterrupted work before they wake up.”