Getting Back to the Office
We're all slowly getting back into the swing of things. I have ridden the F Train (and a few other lines) for doctors’ appointments and various errands and even eaten in restaurants! All this feels great, even with the normal array of eclectic New Yorkers on the subway in the middle of the day. Everyone is masked and polite and if they are not polite they are living their weird out loud and proud. But the one step I hadn’t taken until Friday was working from my office in Midtown Manhattan. Was it as awesome as being home in my fabulous Brooklyn office with all my favorite comforts? Nope. But I did get to have lunch with coworkers and that was worth it. Here’s some tips if you’re thinking about going back in.
The tech will be funky. I knew this fact before the pandemic, but not being home with my sweet MacBook and fast Fios made it real. I assumed the video set up/work computer would be glitchy and I was not disappointed. Cameras and audio weren’t working. Took forever to fire up my machine. All of that made it harder to be productive, particularly because I was in the office on Zoom calls all day. Which leads me to my next realization.
Don’t plan on being super productive on that first day. It takes a bit to adjust and give yourself time and space to get comfortable. People were also on calls and the noise level was quite high which made my ability to focus non-existent. There were plenty of conference rooms which could help (though I do prefer 2 monitors because I’m fancy like that).
Ask other coworkers to come in with you! My whole reason for going was to see my dear friends and colleagues. We made plans for lunch. We sat together in conference rooms. We cleared the junk from our desks and marveled at the year-old snacks we had to toss. It was so great to be together and see people in person.
Keep going back. This is perhaps my biggest takeaway. I will commit to going again next week and thinking of ways to ease back to normal. What has your experience been returning to work? What tips do you have?
