The Great COVID Re…..turn to office.

We are all locked in. Most of us surely are. Whether it is because of office closure, kids at home or just the pain of getting into formal clothes or the long commute to work, we are locked in by force or by habit, getting on Zoom calls and living through another day.

Fortunately my work place is open and personally I prefer to go through the ritual of getting to my office. Get to see and meet my colleagues, pick up my coffee (oh! how much I missed you dear old coffee pot!) and get into a work-zone.

As offices open up, getting there 2 or 3 days a week will probably be a norm. Matching calendars with managers, colleagues and meeting will be an added burden of complexity. Why don’t we just continue to manage from home: Zoom?

There are some of us who for various logistical reasons need to do their roles from home, but majority of us should consider heading to the workplace, and here are some reasons:

Why do we work? Apart from the basic need to pay our bills, most people work to contribute to an endeavor, make a difference to a project, aspire to take leadership roles and be recognized for our contributions. All of the above require partnership, team work and to be inspired by shared visions and inspirational leaders. I feel that extended virtual transactional connects miss out on the positive outcomes of team dynamics and leaderships ability to drive agenda, leading to dis-engagement, which in turn is driving monotony and desire for many to look out for new opportunities. Getting into the office, feeling the energy, interacting with peers and managers is a critical aspect of why workplaces have existed for decades. Time to go back?

Take a break from home: Yes we love the comfort of our dwellings. The 0 commute, dressing down and time to work out is awesome. But we all need a break even from best experiences. I think monotony is detrimental to our well being. Take that 40 minute commute, break the routine. Pull out that new sweater you just bought online, dust the formal shoes (maybe even polish them) and head to the office. The change in scenery will work miracles.

We all need gossip: What makes us different from other living creatures? Long life spans, ability to pass on learnings to the next generation and ability to gossip. All of the above also contribute to culture building as stories get passed on through family and corporate generations (which are of course getting shorter). COVID broke the chain. Across families, college campuses and the office corridors. We need to water-cooler chats to kick off again. We need fresh stories that strengthen bonds.