A Survival Guide to Returning to the Office
You’ve probably gotten used to waking up and strolling into your at-home office for your morning meetings, but with more and more businesses reopening, the days of wearing pajama bottoms on Zoom will soon be a thing of the past. Going back to working in an office can be intimidating; we’ve gotten used to our routines of working remotely, how can we make the transition back to work as smooth as possible?
Insist on a productive workplace
It’s highly likely that your workspace will have changed when you return. Due to the need for flexible working scenarios, an open plan with no assigned spaces might be the new reality. In order to assure you can be the most productive while you’re in the office, ask your employer to have areas designed for interaction and others that are distraction-free. Quiet zones, rooms for private phone conversations or two-person meetings, and areas for larger team meetings are just as important as the areas where you grab coffee, lunch, and socialize.
Establish boundaries. You no longer have the privacy of Google hangouts, but you can still set boundaries with your coworkers. Wearing headphones can be a universal sign you’re not to be disturbed (even if you’re not listening to anything), but if that’s not working, Luxafor makes a LED light indicator that attaches to your monitor/laptop that shows red for “do not disturb” and green for “available.” Gadgets aside, you can let people know specific times that you’re available to chat; if you have a big project due, let your coworkers know beforehand. If someone comes up to you with a “Can I get your eye on this?” It’s ok to say, “Actually no, I need to finish this first. I’ll slack you in an hour or so.”
Connect in person. It might be tough to get back in the groove of in-person interactions after getting so used to communicating through a screen. Push yourself out of your comfort zone by making an effort to check in with your team throughout the day, schedule in-person meetings, or have a lunch/happy hour. It might feel like extra work initially, but soon you’ll see how those personal connections contribute to understanding, productivity, and collaboration.
Ask for a Hybrid option. Talk to management about the possibility of a hybrid schedule, where you start by only working a couple of days a week. Easing your way into going back to the office full time could be beneficial to you and the rest of your team. Don’t be afraid to communicate your needs; let your team know the routine you had while working from home and figure out what schedule works best for everyone.
Socializing and working with your team in person may feel odd at first, but know you aren’t alone! It’s normal to have anxiety about returning to the office but as long as you have open communication with your team, you’ll have a routine set in no time. If you want to talk about how to bring your best communication skills back to the office, book a discovery session with me here.