Hi Everyone. Today I am back with some really relatable topic which I am sure everyone is aware of and everyone is also going through both its positive’s and negatives. 

So how do you feel when someone says that offices are reopening and when are you returning back to office? Your managers/ leadership are all asking you the same question- When are you coming back? 

So , this is what I am going to talk about today reagrding “Transition from home to office”. 

I can understand how it feels and trust me this is different with different individuals. There are people who wish to return to office and there are people who don’t. But there is nothing right and nothing wrong. It all depends upon the circumstances that people hold at this point in time. So, Let’s discuss on how is it creating an impact again when we are asked to return back to office and how we can cope up with  this.

1) Basic Human Psychology: Remember how we felt just 2 or 2 and a half years back when we were locked behind our homes and we were not allowed to go to office. At that point in time, Lockdown created an anxiety and this anxiety was related to uncertainty- Uncertainty of ever meeting our friends or our office colleagues. I remember when first lockdown was in place then everyone of us were waiting eagerly for Lockdown to get opened and meet our friends back but then when continuously Second and Third Lockdowns were enforced – 2 of the either things happened- 1. Few lost hopes to meet their friends ever because till that time, we knew that Covid is now part of our life and we have to adjust as per this. 2. In this regular process of Lockdown, many of us got used to working from homes or in a simple language, people entered their comfort zones. In short we got changed and adapted with resistance when Covid engulfed us and we got used to due to extended periods of Covid. But now again we are resistant to change when everything around us are opening. We are stuck between 2 different periods of change and hence difficult to adapt new change now

2) Resistance to Change: This is the most common and dominating factor which plays a role. I have touched this a little bit in the above point but let us see why is this so. Although we all know that Change is the only constant but still we resist. Why? Simple logic is that deep down we are afraid of the unknown, afraid of upcoming situations (But please note that these are just assumptions and imaginations of your own mind), afraid of whether right or wrong/ good or bad. And more deep root cause is we are afraid and unaware of the certainty. But try to understand very deeply that this fear is all in relation to certainty and comfort that we experienced during lockdown times. If there would have been no covid then from where would have this fear grown from? Again we were uncertain and fearful during first lockdown too and why because again that fear was in relation to the good times or certainty that we experienced from a long time before pandemic. Got my point? Every fear is always in relation to our past experiences. If there would have been no past experiences then there would have been no fear altogether. From this relational fear, our minds builds up stories that fear you more and continuously tells you about good or bad things about the decision that you will take.

But please remember, nothing is stopped in nature and everything is moving on its own vibrations. Only your thougts are not moving. Water when it flows, it is fresh but when same water gets stagnant, it gets stale. When your thought process is stopped then you cannot grow but when you really make an effort to see and accept and then slowly adapt to changes as they are, you will expand. Choice is yours

3) Major past changes: I believe this is valid for all of us. Covid has really changed the way we look upon things and it had a far major impact on digital media and technology too. While we were locked down behind our homes, we got engulfed with loads of Family Responsibilities too. For example, many of us became new parents/ many of us lost our own family members or they became dependent for rest of their lives/ Many of us permanently left locations of our workplaces and returned back to our own hometowns/ Many of us started our own business due to uncertainty of jobs during covid times. So these family responsibilities or family dependencies also play a major role.

4) Comfort Zone: I have touched this again in my first point but let us shed some more light on this. Earlier when Lockdown was in place then we were all restless as to when will the office reopen and we can meet our friends or have some tea breaks or have some little gossips with them. This was especially with the all the women out there who really wanted to get out of home and find some alone time with their friends and colleagues and have some chit-chats with their friends. Most important, all of the women want to wear some new clothes/ apply some makeup and lipstics and move out of house which was not feasible. But with the passing and extended times of covid, we got used to and got comfortable with the circumstances that we were all bestowed upon by life. We women also got comfortable sitting back at home in our night suits with no travelling at all. Our travelling time was absolutely zero and plus the people who were staying outside of their home locations because of job, they were saving their entire rent for themselves. Family gathering time increased a lot as well. Unfortunately we are still striving for all this when everything has now opened

I believe I have covered and touch based all the important factors which are causing impact on our lives when we are called back to office in normal working zone. Now Let’s see how we can mitigate this impact as well and get going or flowing with this new change

1. Be comfortable about these new changes which are happening and understand and have faith that changes are always for betterment. Look around you and feel if anything is stopped and immovable? Everything is moving and changing. Then why are you afraid of these changes? Be one with these changes

2. Sit with yourself and find out which factor triggers the anxiety for you when you are asked to return to office. It may be because you are new parents and cannot leave your child back home/ it may be because of some medical condition for someone back at your home/ it may be because of some elderly dependency at your home/ it may be because of you do not have any accommodation back at your work location. These are few amongst so many common factors which triggers anxiety. But don’t get anxious. Relax and sit back and face these challenges and don’t run away from them because you wont be able to run from them for a long time. Take one problem at a time and find an alternative for the same and hit back. Victory will come as soon as you will solve your problems.

3. Every problem has a solution. Please understand that there is no problem without a solution. In the past, many people have faced and have overcome same problems and if they can then you can also. Be holistic in your approach. Try to talk to people who have overcame such issues in the past and let them inspire you. 

4. Please leave your comfort Zone behind you. Comfort zone is not a healthy problem. It always takes you backward and hinders you from moving ahead. A simple psychological logic of this is that your mind is like a monkey. He enjoys pleasurable stuffs and avoids unpleasant situations. But mind does not know that sometimes even unpleasant situations are good for you. Take an example of body’s pain mechanism. Imagine you got hurt on your hand and it’s bleeding heavily and your body did not even reacted because you did not felt pain. How would you give medical attention when your body needs it? So, you got my point, Pain is also good and necessary to draw attention towards your body when you needed it the most. Similarly, when you will try to come out of your comfort zone, you will feel unpleasant at times and your mind will give you thousands of reasons to not to change. But it’s you who has to understand and bring your intellect in between and identify what is right and what is wrong in coming future and for long run.

5. Take one step at a time. Don’t make too many changes at one time because even you and your mind needs time to adjust and adapt. Try and make small small changes and steer your way accordingly. For example- If your office is calling you may be 3 times a week, try going to the office at least once a week and see how you feel and how your dependencies back at your home are being taken care of. Be comfortable with these changes and then take another step. But again as I said, first find out an alternative for your problems that we discussed in point number 1 above that makes you anxious so that you can freely make few changes and observe them later. Another example- Lets talk about the most popular scenario where you are staying in some other location which is not your work location and you are called back to the office and you know that you cannot really return back ever . Now here multiple factors will play a role. I would suggest to first discuss this scenario with your leadership and be absolutely free in discussing about the same. Please come to a common point where both the parties can discuss as to how frequently and in what intervals can you visit office. This discussion will play a major role for you to search for accommodation. Please understand that this is not the decision of your upward management but of an organisation as a whole. Talk to your management about what all difficulties that you are facing and ask for help and come to some alternatives or some common decisions. Believe me, it will relieve you from anxiety and you can then plan better.

6. Better health and wellness for your mind and body. Please do understand that when your body is in moving state and when you are meeting people off and on then you are giving nutrition to both your body and mind. The more the body is in rest state, more it will get damaged with lower metabolism. More you will be in isolation, more you will suffer psychologically. The only reasoning behind is that your body is nothing but a mechanical instrument and you are a social animal. Hope you got my point. 

I hope you liked my writeup upon this new transition of life. Please let me know if you want me to talk about some other factors as well.