How are you coping with the transition of getting back to the office after working from home during lockdown?
Many of us are discovering that working from home isn’t what it was always cracked up to be. Sure – there are benefits, but there are downfalls that can far outweigh the advantages.
Modern technology has infiltrated our lives to the point where many of us would never need to go back into the office. But modern technology can’t replace human interaction. Nor can emails and text messages compete with the spontaneity of face-to-face, colleague-to-colleague communication. And the punchline to an amusing anecdote isn’t the same when it’s not delivered with the right inflection.
It is human nature to crave comfort, advice (and attention) from other humans. We are basically pack animals with a primal need to interact with each other. Exchanging work-related ideas or sharing funny stories during our physically distanced coffee break is good for us.
It’s become normal in 2020 to have a meaningful chat to ourselves about prepping a meal, then throwing it into the slow cooker while wearing work-from-home trackies. But it’s not the same as chatting to a work colleague about ideas for tonight’s dinner and popping into the supermarket to grab what we need.
But what if you don’t want to go back to working in the office every day? And what if you don’t want to work from home very day? The best-case scenario is to negotiate with your boss (or yourself if you are the boss) to reach a happy medium of doing both.
In the beginning, try out a smooth transition. If your working week is five days, consider working three days at home and two days in the office. If you are working four days, make it two office days and two days from home. Or three office days and one work from home day.
You may just come to the surprising realisation that you have missed the company of your work colleagues, the challenge of choosing an outfit other than lounging wear, and the lame jokes that are delivered during coffee break.
Embrace modern technology and the options thrown at you to work remotely when you need to. But welcome the return to your workplace with gusto and enthusiasm. It’s been one hell of a year, and the least we can do is be thankful to technology for giving us the ability to work from home if and when we need to.