We tend to talk about the pandemic as a collective experience.
For the first time in history, everything about working changed for everybody.
Only it wasn’t collective. Each experience was singular. For some of us, it was kind of… nice, actually? For some of us, it was hell. Living in a poky flat with two small children is just not the same as having a home with an office and sunny garden patio.
Instead, think of the past 18 months as a work project. In March 2020, your boss called you in and offered you an opportunity – one they were extending only to their most valuable, resilient, people. It was called Project Whiplash. You were still expected to collaborate with people and produce at the highest level – you just wouldn’t be able to work near them. ‘I know you and your team like to sit down over cappuccinos at 3pm, but no more. You’re all working from home starting tomorrow.
And you’re not coming back until September. Of 2021. Starting Monday.’
Well, you’re 18 months into that project. And it was deeply weird, often awkward. Oh, but the learnings! You learned so much – about how to work better and the value of connecting (and disconnecting) with colleagues.
You learned that there are advantages to
Zoom. You learned how to speak more clearly, and efficiently. You learned to see yourself as others see you – that you smirk when you think you’re smiling or squint when you’re sceptical.
You learned to give visual cues as a way to support a colleague. It turns out a slight nod is really affirming! You learned a lot about your colleagues. You saw them as whole humans. You saw their homes, their kids, their partners, their art, their plants, their guitars, their cereal boxes. You learned you need to see people less than you thought. You learned you need a break at 3:15pm every day. Or maybe you learned the opposite.
The point is: this was enlightening.
Also, you learned you can do this. And that you might want to keep doing this. A YouGov survey late last year found the majority of workers wanted to carry on working remotely once restrictions lifted. This includes 18% who want to be able to work from home the whole time, and 39% who want to be able to work from home some of the time. What’s more, three-quarters of those who were currently working from home thought it was likely that their employer would continue to let them do so post-COVID.
Was the project a success? That’s hard to say. But it was a rarer-thanonce-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see our jobs from a remarkable distance.
As the project ends, a new one begins. What’s waiting for you in the office is not the same office.
You’ve changed. Your colleagues have changed. Maybe your office has changed, too.
It’s not a return. It’s an integration. Your new project? Taking the best habits, hacks and practices of your pandemic work life and bringing them with you to this new reality.
You set boundaries at home. You can set them at work. You were more efficient at home. You can be more efficient at work. You did deskside exercises before the one-on-one with your boss. You can do that at work, too.
It’s going to be weird. It’s going to be intense. But if you do it right, it will feel like a promotion. Here’s how.