Return to Office: Tips to cope with Change

Therefore here are some important points to focus on in order to make the work transition much easier:

The WFH (work from home) life didn’t require us to get up at a particular time in order to get dressed and leave for work. This means that we have the liberty to take our own sweet time, sleep late and wake up late, just in time to log into work. This might not be a feasible idea if you have to work physically as you might be late every day. Waking up early to go to work on time might be one of the biggest hurdles of this transition. In order to prevent all this, practice waking up on time. At least a week before the rejoining date, start waking up early so that your body is awakened from its slumber and you get into the habit of getting up on time. This way on your first day of work you won’t have much trouble.

 When you are at home, the strict routine that you used to follow and packed and placed in a suitcase under your bed. It’s time to take that suitcase out and dust the old routine into practice. Something to keep in mind is that due to the pandemic your body might be accustomed to certain habits like a mid-day drink or even nap, some might have started regular exercise. Make sure to allocate adequate time in your routine to continue such healthy practices as they will help you cope with the change and not make it seem so sudden

One boon of WFH was that most of us were privileged enough to spend quality time with our families or even for ourselves, this might be your regular meditation or gardening or any other stress-relieving activity or hobby that you were engaged in. Make sure to continue doing that, allow yourself to be pampered and cared for. Consciously take out time for yourself and your mental and physical health. Going back to working physically is not an excuse to fall back into the pattern of neglect. Continue pursuing your hobbies or doing activities that help you relax or unwind. This will go a long way in assisting you to maintain your sanity under the sudden change of work environment and onset stress. Set boundaries for yourself and learn to tell no to things you do not wish to do. 

A habit that we all have as busy working professionals is eating food, typically from fast food carts outside our workplace. One of the major reasons to re-open office spaces is the need to support local food carts and businesses that suffered majorly when the offices were shut. This shows how much urban working professionals relieved on these joints to supply their lunch order. The WFH situation demanded a change in this consumer behavior. Most people even took up cooking as a hobby and enjoyed it to a point where they constantly prepared their own meals which are significantly better for once health and cheaper. Try to maintain the same momentum once the open spaces re-open as well. You might not be able to cook as much but make it a point to eat healthy meals whenever possible. 

The WFH situation was good but not ideal, now that we have to go back into our lives let’s not completely forget all the progress that we made with the time at hand. Continue pursuing your hobbies and maintaining your good habits. On the other hand, let’s catch up on everything that we missed, make it a point to grab a cup of coffee with your friend, talk about your pain points. Doing this will reduce your chances of burnout and getting overwhelmed with the sudden transition.