TOP 3 REASONS TO GET BACK TO WORK

I’m sure you will all agree that this working from home thing is getting overwhelming and tiresome – in fact it’s hard, really hard!

Our days are all kind of blending into one, we haven’t been able to shake a hand, have a coffee or talk about football in our workplaces for such a long time and we are chomping at the bit to get back to some kind of normal.

This got me thinking about why it is so important for me to get back to my workplace, and I’m sure it will resonate with so many of you who are feeling the same kind of emotions that I am.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my children, my husband and my animals… But, I want to go back to my place of work and here is why:

1. I really need to reclaim my “home as my home”.  I have spent years trying to create a beautiful space to call my home, my sanctuary, my party palace, my headspace.  This is where I play with my children, entertain my friends, cook dinner with my husband, play music loud, dance and love.  It has now become everything – my workspace, my husband’s workspace, school for our three children still schooling, a psychologist/therapist suite, a gym etc.  It has lost its meaning of “Home”, a sanctuary where all that live here can be themselves without tip-toeing around or feeling anxious about interrupting or making too much noise.  Our homes need to be our homes, and our workspaces/schools/gyms/doctors/therapists etc need to be kept at different locations.

2. Nothing beats face to face.  We perform better face to face, that is a medical fact.  No matter how you look at it, whether from a business perspective, student and teacher, lovers, friends every which way, if you are face to face not only do you communicate differently, but both also talking and listening, you behave and react differently.   From a business perspective, you are more inclined to succeed or have a positive outcome when you face to face with your clients and co-workers – you are more productive.  This doesn’t mean that I am going to hug everyone I see when I go back to work… well actually, it might! I miss being on location and hearing the hustling and bustling of the workplace, listening to the laughter from my co-workers and having conversations with my clients in the breakout areas. 

3. Disconnect from distraction.  I don’t know about you, but I think I have the attention span of a 3-year-old! It was once referred to me as “Shiny Object Syndrome”.  I will be the first to put my hand up and say that I am definitely less productive when I am working from home during lockdown, but not the case when we are not in lockdown.  The difference?  DISTRACTIONS!!!  Children, husband, puppy, cat, music, food, the sun outside, the photo on my walls etc.  I think you get the picture!  Being distracted isn’t necessarily a bad thing especially if it helps you re-focus, but if it’s constant it is unproductive, and causes anxiety and frustration.

We need to get back to work to be the best versions of ourselves – our work self and our home self.