Check out my E-book, Rethinking My Remote Return, on Amazon!
Role Back
A huge transition is about to occur and because there were numerous false starts prior to this one, we didn’t quite prepare. Back to Work is happening. For many, this means little. They were working outside their cozy homes the whole time. The reason they thought that the homes were cozy was mostly because they couldn’t stay in them. They weren’t locked out of work. In fact, they probably felt locked in with the bad stuff. It’s always location, location, location. But for those with the looming prospect of going back to the workplace, there is so much work undone.
Logistical Role
I don’t much care what you call the new system. Hot desks, hoteling, scheduled workplace or even buy one get one free. You gave away the place I was safe at work. And safety has increased in importance, not decreased. The fact is that many will return to their workplace and find someone in their Goldilocks desk. You will recognize them as they walk towards the old post and stop in their tracks when they see someone else is sitting there. You have been physically replaced. Humans like certainty. We like to return to our photos, tissue boxes, drawers that don’t slide right and all of the other characteristics that reflected their work self. Those who don’t want to sit with the troublemakers in the office will move to a whole different floor if permitted. Those who want to hide out from work and their lurking boss will move around like chameleons. You won’t know from day to day where to find the one or two nice people who understand your need to sneeze twice in a row. You will have to reach out and create times when you can meet up in the sanitized break area.
New Role
But returning can work to your advantage also. Think about who you were when you left. There is a great chance that you improved a few skills since then and can handle stress and difficult situations with better reactions. Working remotely was not the easy way out; it was just the quickest way to get everyone apart. Hindsight is great for making improvements and there are a lot of opinions on improving remote work now. For those staying remote, they can really hunker down and create a safe, productive environment for work. If the hybrid model is in your future, be ready to make a lot of decisions and hope that your employer doesn’t just stay huddled away in the tower again. They may think that you will use your uncanny ability to solve problems and let the lab rats run the maze.
Spring into Action
Take time right now to figure out who you want to be. You can go forward while going back. Reality is confusing and has an awesome sense of humor. If you want some help with thinking, I have prepared some quick thoughts and questions to guide you. Please download my E-book, Rethinking My Remote Return, available on Amazon. It’s fairly quick, cheap and doable. I guarantee that you will find something to give you the edge you need to not only return better but show others who you have become. After all, you know who you want to be at work. You just haven’t had the opportunity to really shine yet. This is your chance because most will come back unprepared, complain just like they did before, underwork for their paycheck and lower team morale. You can show them how it’s really done. Go ahead, I dare you.
If you want to show off your amazing self finally, rethink who you were and create the who you want to be now. Let me be your guide.
