Back, To Where You Once Belonged

The dining table has taken on a new role for many of us over the course of the last couple of years. Once a place to gather with family for a meal and conversation, its duty expanded during COVID to include “work from home battle station.” Condiments and cutlery were replaced with laptops and paperwork. With this Spring being touted as the time many businesses start bringing workers back into the office en masse, what does that mean for our working habits and the spaces in our homes we dedicate to them?

At its peak, the number of workers performing the majority of their duties from home in the U.S. reached 44 percent. This resulted in a number of knock-on affects. The first was a huge surge in the sales of portable devices, webcams, desks, chairs and other home-office paraphernalia. Even those of us without the space for a dedicated work area managed to make the best of it and find a productive spot in the house. The second however was a shift in how employers see their workers as an asset. The realization set in that output wasn’t negatively effected by allowing individuals to function entirely from home, in fact some studies have shown the opposite. Without taking commuting time out of their day, 55 percent of people working from home actually said they were working more hours than they did previously.

Then why bring employees back into the office at all? Well there are several factors which extend beyond an organization simply wishing to keep an eye on you. Certain positions simply work better when you can operate from within an organization. Meeting rooms, social areas, being a short walk away from the department you’re working with’s desks; there is a convenience factor to consider. Face-to- face meetings with people are good for our mental wellbeing and reduce the tech-fatigue of spending our entire day speaking into a webcam. It’s much easier to feel part of a team when you’re physically interacting with them rather than simply typing into the void of a chat box.

Employers also have their duty of care to consider. Your company has a vested interest in you, and should be making sure (they’re in actuality obligated) that your work environment is a safe and reasonably healthy one. Things like ergonomics, air quality, lighting, noise; all of this is incredibly difficult to track when such a vast number of workers are simply faces on a screen. For a manager to spot burnout remotely and take steps to prevent it is multitudes more difficult than it would be if you’re able to see and speak to an employee in person every day. Workplace development is a similar story, our ability to learn from our coworkers is hugely important and a much easier task when we can sit and watch while someone demonstrates.

As with anything there’s a tradeoff though. Some of us will have to re-learn the social aspect of being in the office. Am I speaking too loudly? Why are there people in my space? The slightly awkward meeting of colleagues you’ve only ever seen in a Zoom session. I think the last two years have reminded us though something that might have been overlooked. Something I do hope becomes part of this “new normal” we’re wrestling with. Balance. We’ve shown we can still be productive while tending to laundry, and sports practice, and homeschooling. Even giving people the ability to telecommute occasionally would be a massive win for keeping a healthy work/life ratio. Pajama sales would stay strong while still forcing us to ponder if a shirt was legitimately business-casual. I struggle to see the downside.