In light of the PMs announcement, how is everyone feeling about returning back to work if you haven’t been back in the traditional sense?
Or at all? I am having extreme anxiety that everyone is so keen to be back to business as usual. I do not think that is the answer, with the time we have had to be still for a while, should our ideas of the workplace remain the same? I personally am facing a cross roads in my life and unfortunately I am suffering from chronic depression. I am hoping that a combination of remote work with a couple of days in the office. Generally a more agile approch is more suited to my lifestyle moving forward.
Replies9
- Hey Jasmine. I agree, it would be a shame if in our panic to return to 'normal' we missed the opportunity presented by the changes we've been forced to undergo over the past year. At Nike we're talking a lot about a more agile future and personally I'm committed to a balance moving forwards of working maybe two days remote, three days in office. Being able to set up our lives as they best work for our emotions should be powerful and liberating. Alexandra x
- @ɐɹoᗡ ɐuu∀ ˥ great advice thank you.
- @Agathe Monmont such a wonderful reply. I am really hoping too that organisations that are storchly more traditional in culture, would be open to those employees who would hope to move into a more agile way of working, if the work permits the flexibility. There is something so powerful in allowing people to have the grace to restructure their lives in a way that honours them as well as their commitment to their job.
- Hi Jasmine,First of all thanks for your honesty and reaching out, I hope you are feeling better at the moment.I agree with most of the points down here. I reckon that the working dynamics as a whole will be re-assessed and, as much as I'd like to think that this will happen with all workers' mental health in mind, I am afraid that companies have now realised they can save money by having meeting hubs rather than stable offices (where possible).On the flip side we have confirmed what we suspected for a long time: most of the meetings could be avoidable and many times rendered useless, so I think there will be some changes in these concern.I suggest listing which one of your responsibilities are doable remotely and present an efficient plan to your manager, one that clearly states pros and cons of balancing onsite and remote working.Hope this helps!
- Hi, I also look forward to more flexibility and a greater work life balance. Yes working from home is exhausting and has its challenges, but let's stop pretending that commuting, being stuck in an office all day, inhaling a miserable sandwich from Pret in front of a computer screen wasn't as harmful for our mental health. Work is being redefined, and I think we should all try and join a company that embraces the new normal and aligns with your personal goals or if not, try to have these conversations with our managers, our HR departments and really push for bespoke solutions. Easier said than done, but seeing Spotify allowing its employees to work from anywhere in the world was a glimpse of hope for me. Stay strong, we'll make it happen. Health comes first.
- Hi Jasmine, I agree with the suggestion of speaking with your manager or supervisor to see if you could continue to work from home or at least compromise on working from home for some days of the week. While it would be great to get out again, I think many of us have realised there are great benefits to working from home and therefore that just might be a new 'normal' for some. I hope things work out for you.
- Hi Jasmine,As a generic advice: if you don't ask for you don't get it. If you enjoyed working from home be honest and tell to your employer. I'm sure they are open to negotiate if they didn't see negative effect on your performance.Hope it helps. feel free to check out my work on https://www.instagram.com/annadoralascsik/
- @Matthew Neophytou thank you Matthew for your response. I totally agree. I am hoping that this time we have had away from work, will hopefully have more work places being open to a mixture of remote and work in an office.
- Hi JasmineI have been thinking the same thing, as I too do suffer from bouts of depression and anxiety and have found the choice of remote working helps, though I do think that an amalgamation of the two practices is a good way to go, as I do believe it is healthy and productive to converse with colleagues face to face. I have read several CEOs on Linkedin do share that sentiment, perhaps having conversations with managers and people teams to make a plan on going forward? If anyone has any material that can help with the discussion I would greatly appreciate any.
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