We’ve been staying at home and keeping ourselves busy with remote work for what seemed like forever, but now that the global pandemic has eased quite a bit, it has given industries the signal to open their doors, bring in the janitorial services to clean up the dust, and finally invite their employees back to the office. As a result, people can now bid farewell to their home office lifestyle and go back to the work habits of pre-pandemic normal, with a few caveats like wearing face masks and staying at least six feet apart from colleagues.
However, despite the promising news of the world opening up again, most remote workers are surprisingly not as ecstatic about heading back to work because they’ve synced up a bit too well with their remote work schedules and don’t know what their productivity will be like having to readjust. And so, to help you saddle in with the return-to-office movement, we’ll be going through some of the benefits you might’ve overlooked because of growing too cozy with working from home.
1. Saying Goodbye to All the Distractions at Home
Let’s be honest; while a lot of us did get more work done, we can’t feign ignorance to all the distractions at home, and whether we admit it or not, you can’t lie about the temptation to just lie back on the couch or have your toddler suddenly interrupt your meetings. Therefore, from that aspect alone, you can clearly tell where the benefits are because you won’t have to deal with the same subtle annoyances and distractions when you’re back sitting in your office chair.
Of course, that’s not to say the office building is the perfect work environment, it could still use a couple of fixes here and there, but it will surely be a lot less distracting when you don’t have that TV remote whispering in your ear to get back to Netflix binge-watching. So take comfort in the fact that you can say goodbye to all the distractions at home.
2. Not Having to Worry About Your Office Setup
Not everyone has the luxury of having the best tech just lying around at home to help them with work, and for the vast majority that was caught unprepared, many people had to scramble to manage their office setups at home. In fact, a lot of remote workers don’t exactly have the optimal setups even right now, and going back to the office building will save you all the trouble of having to worry about a computer setup because that will be provided.
Sure, it doesn’t feel nice knowing that you’ve invested into a pretty good laptop, made some progress with your in-home office setup, and only to leave it on an indefinite postponement. But think of it as a bonus for personal use and an emergency backup if you ever need to work from home again.
3. Actually Seeing Your Coworkers for a Change
Isolation is bad for the body, mind, and soul, and while you can technically count seeing your coworkers on a screen as some form of socialization, it can never bridge the gap of actually seeing them in person. And with the return-to-office movement, you can finally see them for a change after all this time spent holed up in your bedroom for the past months.
Now do be warned that a lot of us have gone rusty with our social skills, so expect a lot of awkward situations and conversations to come out of nowhere. But, on the brighter side, you can get the opportunity to exercise your work fashion aesthetic once again and meet some work buddies you’ve been dying to catch up with face-to-face.
But Always Remember That Remote Work Is Still an Option
Nevertheless, despite the lifestyle benefits that come with returning to the office, always remember that remote work is still a very viable option in today’s market. And considering that companies are preferring the hybrid workplace model, it’s pretty safe to say that remote work will be here for the long term.
- Personal Preferences on Flexibility: One benefit that the traditional going-to-the-office model can never beat remote work at is the sheer amount of flexibility you get. And if you feel that you can get a lot more done by staying at home and keeping to your current schedule, then sticking with work from home should be a no-brainer.
- Better Long-term Savings: From a financial standpoint, even working from home has the traditional model beat for both the employee and the employer. For us employees, we save on transportation expenses and the stress of a commute, which does accumulate over time. And for the employers, it gives them a wider reach and a bigger talent pool to explore.
The Post-pandemic Work Life
In conclusion, adjusting to the return-to-office movement will take some time, but it does come with many benefits that we’ve shrugged off because of staying at home too long. So, take baby steps moving forward and build the foundation for your post-pandemic work life.
