Beware the Return
Going back to the office may be harder than you expect.
A few years ago at a company I used to work for, my manager gave me approval to work from home 50% of the time. It was great, it happened at a moment when I had recently become a dad which meant it I had so much more time to focus on taking care of and raising my son. I loved it.
A year or two later I moved to a new company and with that move I went back to being in the office pretty much 5 days a week.
I had more physical and mental health issues in the first 3 months of my return to full-time commuting & in-office work than I’ve ever had in my life. Ever.
Despite the conversations I’ve been seeing about how we’re moving towards a new normal for office remote work, I’m also seeing pretty clear indicators that a lot of senior management/leadership at a lot of companies and organizations are going to do their damnedest to make sure that the new normal looks a lot like the old normal.
Even in the face of an abundance of clear data that points to remote work’s benefits in both reduced overhead costs and improved employee well-being and productivity, many employers are resistant to the idea of trusting their employees.
There is a faction that is committed to putting everybody back into the office.
This is a terrible idea.
If you’re finding yourself in a situation where you are returning to the office after a year+ of remote telework be prepared for a shock to your system.
Be prepared to push back.
