09 July 2020

When we started working from home, we all did our best to focus on the good things. Now that it's time to return to our workplace, here are five things about working from home that – we can say it out loud - surely won't be missed!

2:00 min

1 Lack of community atmosphere

Returning (even partially) to our office spaces brings back social interactions, or “water cooler” conversations, while still maintaining social distancing rules. By going to work again we can go back to talking while looking at each other in the eyes, developing relationships, and sharing common experiences… simple things with a great impact on our mood that make our jobs much more pleasant.

2 Tech glitches

Being able to interact with a colleague in front of us without any screen or having to worry about internet connection problems makes communication less stressful.

Digital communications are a great way to stay close to far-away clients and colleagues, but sometimes it’s harder to get and interpret vocal inflections, tone of voice, facial expressions, body language or other types of visual and auditory cues that people rely on to understand the emotional meaning of things.

3 Loss of focus and attention

While working from home, we may be surrounded by distractions. Returning to a dedicated workspace may help decrease excessive interruptions and help us focus on one task at the time. Especially for those with children, a small house or a stressful situation at home, returning to the office can be a great way to improve concentration and, perhaps paradoxically, even get some rest.

4 No boundaries

Without a separation between home and office, the two begin to blend together, and we may forget to check out from the former. Returning to regular office hours and spaces may bring back necessary boundaries between work and home; without them, working from home can easily make us feel like we’re always at work — and that can be exhausting and stressful.

5 Outside the loop

Casual collaboration comes out best in physical and in-person settings. Whether it’s about learning better practices from co-workers or having an impromptu brainstorming session over lunch, these activities are difficult to replicate from home.

Working in a team enables employees to share knowledge as well as working more efficiently and effectively. Also, working together as part of a team promotes healthy relations among employees.