WHY YOU SHOULD GO INTO THE OFFICE
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You may have already read my thoughts on why you don’t need to go into the office and wonder what on earth I’m playing at here.
Over five years ago, remote working still felt like somewhat of an alien concept and I often found clients would want me to come and work from their offices. Fine, but there wasn’t enough money in the world to get me back in the office full time. Not when I had my own little office at home with my things, my setup, my chair, my coffee machine etc.
Then the pandemic hit in 2020, and employers had to start re-thinking some things. Somewhat luckily, I had a headstart compared to most and was already set up for full working from home. Fast forward - well, at the pace of rewinding a video you rented from BlockBuster - two years and just as the pandemic was letting up I realised I had to get out of my house.
See, working from home is wonderful for many reasons, but especially so when you have a third space. A place you go where you can make connections in other ways, like the gym or a hobby club for example. When those spaces are also taken away as they were at that time, the office started to feel less like a haven and more like a prison.
My husband also works from home full time and we decided that something needed to change before resorting to filing for divorce. And we got an office space in our hometown.
...tea and coffee for your employees is not asking too much, people.
It’s a joy, but we aren’t there all the time. In fact, I’m writing this in the office by myself with my choice of music on the speaker and singing intermittently between paragraphs without a worry in the world as to who else I’m bothering.
Having said that, while solitary space to write is important to me, I have the opportunity to chat to the ladies in my local coffee shop, meet friends for co-working or wander to the Co-op and buy sweets I definitely don’t need. There’s still a chance for connections.
And this is a call out to employers more so than employees.
I’ve worked in offices that are in the middle of nowhere, limited facilities onsite and with disengaged staff. That wasn’t fun. Working in vibrant offices, with at least some perks - tea and coffee for your employees is not asking too much, people - and in a space that allows your employees to thrive and create makes a world of difference.
Whatever the situation, we spend far too much of our lives at work to do it in misery. Make it work for you.
