Reopening the Office

 

Photo by Marten Bjork on Unsplash.

The proverbial light at the end of the tunnel is shining brighter and brighter as the country cautiously emerges from life during a pandemic. The past year-plus has seemingly passed in the blink of an eye and yet been interminable. It has been tragic, and at once both memorable and forgettable. There is a sense of lost time, of lives placed on hold, and of opportunities forever missed. COVID-19 upended everything, necessarily placing strict limits on our behavior. For those of us fortunate enough to keep our jobs throughout this period, the disruptions have been a reason to rethink how we work. They have prompted questions regarding whether white-collar workplaces should change in response. 

My firm, Robertson/Sherwood/Architects, returned to in-office work on June 1. Prior to doing so, we disseminated guidelines to our staff based on the recommendations of state and local health officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These recommendations include measures intended to foster a clean and safe work setting, such as requiring employees to self-assess for potential signs and symptoms of coronavirus infection (regardless of the fact all of us are fully vaccinated) and discouraging in-office meetings with non-vaccinated clients and guests. 

Our guidelines do support continued remote work depending on personal needs. When it may make sense for me, I can choose to do so.   

The first two weeks since returning to the office have gone well. There has been a remarkable sense of normalcy about our day-to-day interaction and activities. In many respects, it is as if our banishment to working from home never happened. Was it all just a dream? 

I did have mixed feelings about transitioning back to days in the office. I found remote-working effective. I was unexpectedly productive. Connecting only virtually with my coworkers and other project collaborators was not a significant hinderance. My wife, who retired several years ago, certainly enjoyed my company throughout the day. If it were entirely up to her, I would continue to work from home, at least for part of the week or each day. 

On the other hand, my professional life had taken over my personal territory and time. The absence of structure and routine during my workdays hampered my ability to effectively manage my work-induced stress and anxiety. Looking back, it’s clear I failed to adequately set boundaries between work and life. If my computer was on and available, I was too—an unhealthy recipe for burnout. 

Since returning to the office my level of stress and anxiety has markedly lessened. Not so coincidentally, the persistent headaches that tormented me for months have largely abated since reestablishing the workday routine and clearly separating work from home life. The importance of that separation wasn’t clear to me before, but it is now.    

I am fortunate to live close enough to our office that heading home for lunch to visit my wife is a practical possibility, so this is part of my daily routine. Admittedly, these visits are rushed but physically leaving the office provides a useful break and opportunity for a mid-day mental reboot. 

Earlier this year I questioned whether COVID-19 has really changed the future of the office. I postulated the pandemic may have pushed us past a tipping point and the future of the office could be radically unlike what it was before. While many employers are eager to get their employees back on-site full-time, it is true a substantial number of others are considering extending remote work indefinitely or the possibility of shifting to a hybrid model combining in-person and at-home work. This latter group includes some of our clients, who have asked us to help them reimagine their offices as flexible environments capable of supporting a wide range of working preferences (such as hoteling and hot-desking). One thing is certain: the cat is most definitely out of the bag.   

If the early returns are any indication, Robertson/Sherwood/Architects will be among those employers who primarily embrace working in-office as opposed to collaborating virtually (while not precluding remote work). Given our current projects examining alternative work arrangements and my musings on the subject, there is some irony in our preference for doing things the old-fashioned way. Each business will come to its own conclusion about what makes the most sense, operationally and for its employees. Somewhat to my surprise, I think our choice to favor working together in our physical office is the right one for us.