Reflect on your needs before return to office

Q: I’m a single woman, 34, and I feel like, with more people getting vaccinated, I may soon have to decide whether I’m returning to my same job in the same old way. I’ve already heard of employers in big firms telling people they can choose whether to work from home or return to their desks.

For me, having experienced the fears of getting very ill from COVID-19, not being able to see my parents and grandmother in person, and struggling with learning all the technology to work virtually, I’m now having second thoughts about going back to “normal” regarding my job.

I’m vaccinated (getting my second shot as soon as possible), so I can now visit my family and be with the friends who are also soon going to be double-vaccinated.

Working from home, I don’t have to board public transit with others who may be unvaccinated, or get in elevators with people who’ll stop distancing or wearing masks in crowds, or be in a roomful of people who like to gossip up close.

Thinking about this is making me feel stressed again. I like my job but I’ve learned to do it even better from home. The only distractions are the ones I choose, such as staying in touch with my closest friends and a past boyfriend whom I’d missed.

But there’s salary at risk. If the boss wants everyone back, it’s uncertain how they’ll respond to my saying “No thanks.”

I know the employees who had an office social life, including lunches, five o’clock drinks (and office affairs), will go back.

But I’m unsure what to do. I need my income to cover my rent and expenses. Though I liked a number of my co-workers, I’ve never counted wholly on my workplace for my social life, and I feel most comfortable and secure in my home office.

What do you advise?

My Post-Pandemic Puzzle

A: You’re operating on overthink, which is adding to your confusion. Yes, it’s understandable, because there may be widespread calls to return to the office soon after public health officials can declare that we’ve reached herd immunity.

But there are logical steps in your evaluation that you need to consider. Remember, this is a relationship column so it needs to be clear to both of us whether this is about your relationship to your work and your future in this field — or if it’s really about your relationship to yourself and your need to live comfortably with this major choice.

Concerns about financial needs, if working from home, should be discussed with an accountant and bank adviser. (Consider creating your own home-based freelance company if that serves your personal requirements better, but you’ll want to check out start-up costs.)

Yet, your need for emotional comfort became more apparent through pandemic restrictions on in-person contact with close relatives and friends.

If you choose to return to the officebased job and related routines, you’d likely adjust soon enough, because you have these other support people.

But will you feel happy and secure enough to be positive and productive there again? The last thing you want to do is go back only to then drop out or get depressed.

Think it through on the basis of understanding yourself, your actual financial needs, your long-term goals and needs in the workforce, and what lifestyle factors you believe you can successfully handle.

Ellie’s Tip of the Day

Assess your personal/emotional/ financial needs now, before deciding whether to return to an office-based job, or stay home-based if possible.