Being an Intern at MarkPlus, Inc., MarkPlus Institute – COPING WITH COVID-19 PANDEMIC

By: Hendy Suwandi (Student of Global Business Marketing Program)

“Since December, Covid-19 has spread across the globe and the number of infections continues to rise”

As part of the government plan to stop the spreading infection of Covid-19 virus, the government has arranged a Large-scale Social Restrictions (Indonesian: Pembatasan Sosial Berskala Besar or PSBB) regulation. As MarkPlus, Inc. headquarter in Jakarta, MarkPlus, Inc. has no option but to comply with the regulation. Here’s my story of my first internship in pandemic era.

My first day in MarkPlus Institute was in February 2021. During the same month and the next few months, Covid-19 infections were decreasing. However, MarkPlus, Inc. still restrict social interaction with rules and health regulations of their own. The office capacity is reduced to 50% of its total capacity. The work system is set to WFO shifting, which is half WFH and WFO. For full-time employees, they must come to office atleast once a week. Unlike the full-time employees, interns are encouraged to WFH and only come to office if needed. Interns are also needed to check in their current health condition by filling form every day.

To maintain the company’s culture and teamwork, MarkPlus Institute. has a Weekly Sharing Session set on Friday. The sharing session is actually a knowledge session in which the moderators talk about anything that is interesting such as time management, presentation tips, etc. For my own division, we have our own weekly meeting every Monday.

In my opinion, I think that WFH system has its pro and cons. The pros are that I get to work efficiently as I don’t have to waste my time on transportation, flexible work time, and less stressing. However, there are also some cons which there are no boundaries between work and personal life and I get distracted easily form various things. Nevertheless, In the future, I do hope that WFH system will be implemented permanently.

Unfortunately, by the time I write this article, which is June 2021, there has been a rising infection of Covid-19. In response to that, MarkPlus, Inc. has further restricted social interaction by decreasing to 25% of its capacity. This is my experience of my first internship in pandemic era. Stay safe and healthy!