Slowly but surely, offices in Ohio are becoming more populated again. If you feel like you were just getting the hang of working from home, yet another switch can be stressful. So here are some tips to make readjusting to office life easier.
- Get excited about seeing your colleagues again. Finally, the chance to interact with someone outside the confines of your house! Whatever else working from the office may bring, at least you get to see some of your favorite colleagues in person instead of on video.
- Get ready for your commute. Unfortunately, it’s time to face the traffic again. No more waking up at 7:52 to start your day. But at least you can make your commute more enjoyable: set up a playlist full of songs you want to hear in concert when concerts are allowed again, or pick out a few new podcasts to fill the time. And don’t forget—this means you can return to grabbing coffee on the way in instead of having to make your own coffee.
- Plan for budget changes. Speaking of coffee, don’t forget about the coffee money and gas money and daycare money that you weren’t spending during quarantine. Make sure you’ve budgeted well for the transition back to work!
- Don’t forget to communicate. Working from home sort of forces you to communicate, because you have to email and video chat in order to get things accomplished as a team. Don’t just assume that everyone’s on the same page now that you’re back together in person—keep communication clear!
- Enjoy your renewed work-life balance. The line between work life and home life tended to blur a bit as we worked from home, but getting back into the office will help separate the personal and professional better again. Pulling on your favorite pair of sweats can once more be associated with a night of TV as opposed to your fifth day of work without a shower.
- And of course, practice good hygiene! The final thing to note in all this, of course, is to keep washing your hands often and practicing considerate hygiene practices. We still want to be as safe as possible!