Why DO so many fear the return to work?

We are gradually seeing restrictions starting to ease and life is starting to get back to normal with the return of non-essential travel this week. But sixteen months of working from home has been comfortable for some and now they don’t really want to return to the daily commute. Others have actually become fearful of returning to the office.

This isn’t only about the slower pace of WFH, the way you can eat cereal in your joggers while watching This Morning and replying to emails. This is about being genuinely anxious and scared.

Psychologists have already started noticing this and dubbed it FORO — Fear Of Returning to the Office.

According to one survey last week, it has prompted a spike in workers requesting sick notes, citing stress, depression and anxiety as reasons why they have to continue working remotely.

The mental health charity Mind has said remote working, combined with nerves over restrictions easing, could be contributing to the rise in sick notes. I even heard that one investment bank is employing dedicated counsellors to help staff return to life at their desks.

THIS fear of returning to the office is something I have noticed in my patients, too. Several have already asked me to write letters exempting them from the office even though we aren’t due back until September.

While ostensibly this is over fear of the virus, I actually think it is more than that.

I have been surprised by quite how many people are genuinely scared of the office — particularly young people, who are incredibly unlikely to become seriously unwell with the virus, even if they do catch it.

Reminding them of this doesn’t seem to reassure them. I think that’s because their fear is less about the virus and more about social anxiety. It has shown me how many people struggle with stress, particularly in social settings.

While we are social animals, it does come at a cost. Human interactions are complex and tiring, and the shifting politics of office life can be exhausting if you are naturally introverted.

Enforced isolation for the past year and a half has left many people fearful of even talking to others again, let alone engaging in the complex social skills required for office life.

Some were always slightly anxious in social settings, and now feel they have got out of the habit and are dreading going back. Yet hiding away isn’t the answer.

So what should you do if you have FORO? If you are suffering from depression, then do talk to your GP. But if it’s just nerves, accept that it is normal to be worried, then ask yourself what specifically you are worried about.

How much is fear of the virus and how much is social anxiety?

If it’s the virus, remind yourself that the chances of you becoming seriously ill are very small; that there are things you can do to minimise the risk of infection.

Ensure you have had both vaccine jabs, keep your distance from co-workers and try to keep your office well-ventilated.

If you feel it’s social anxiety, remind yourself that while working from an office feels different, it is only returning to something you used to do — it feels new, but it’s not.

Accept a graded return if you can, to ease yourself back slowly, and on your first day, arrange to meet one person for a coffee. There will be lots of chat about the pandemic, so think of other things to talk about.

It will take a while to get used to, so prepare yourself for being more tired when you get home. Avoid making too many plans for the evening in the first couple of weeks, so you can get plenty of rest and recuperate. Be mindful that some people love a bit of drama. Actively avoid those colleagues who love to complain or engage in fearmongering. It’s not helpful and will ratchet up your stress levels.

Remember to smile and be positive. This kind of attitude is catching and others will appreciate you taking the lead in seeing the bright side of things, and join in.

I think some of the anxiety underpinning FORO is uncertainty of what it will be like back at work, especially if you have been working 100 per cent from home. If this is the case, talk to your boss about what the first day will look like.

Remember that change always triggers emotional discomfort. There is no way of knowing for sure what working life will be like in the coming months. The only thing we can be certain about is that it will be different and potentially a bit strange.

Focus not on unknowns but on what you want now you are back. We can’t control everything but we can control how we approach difficulties.

Remember, too, that the human mind is very adaptable. I bet if I went back two years and told those now so apprehensive about returning to work, of the changes they would have to make to their lives because of the pandemic, they would have been horrified. Yet they managed.

The ‘new’ normal of the pandemic took a relatively short time to get used to. Putting on a mask to enter a shop is now second nature. Washing our hands and keeping our distance happens automatically. So it will be the same with the office. It will unsettling at first, but before you know it, you’ll be back in the swing of things.

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