As companies start planning for folks to come back to the office, I imagine everyone will say the same thing: “Only come back if you feel comfortable”
But let’s say you really like not being in the office…and if they’re not making you come in, why not stay remote? Here are some thoughts….
First and foremost, safety is key. If you truly don’t feel safe going back into the office, just don’t. It could be for a myriad of reasons….no one can decide how safe you feel except you.
But, if you feel safe going back to the office, but would rather work from home, a couple of things to consider:
- Work is more than just Zoom calls and emails. If you’re relatively new at a company, it’s really hard to create relationships when the only time you talk to people is about a specific task. There’s no elevator chat, no casual conversation. Consequently, you might feel isolated or excluded because you don’t have any shared personal experiences.
- It’s hard to manage people when your entire relationship is remote. The only time I’ve seen that work for me is when the person has no expectations to progress and is perfectly happy doing what they are doing. Basically, they really don’t need much to be managed.
- Much of our communication comes from reading body language: the problem is…there’s no body on Zoom calls! So I’m trying to figure out what you really feel by searching for minute facial changes, shifting in a chair, or when you touch your face/brow/hair. It was hard enough reading people in person…..
- Collaboration on-line is only 20% effective. That’s my number….no study was performed. You’re all talking at once, you’re trying to edit a document on line which is hard to read, you’re missing someone who couldn’t make the call, people send edits afterwards via email but don’t copy everyone, somewhere someone decided all meetings are now 30 minutes….sound familiar? It’s just not as good.
- It’s too easy for people to opt out in Zoom meetings…notice how there are often a lot of boxes with no video, and the person says nothing? That’s a lot harder to do in an in person meeting…to keep showing up and say nothing. Zoom calls? Happens all the time…..and weirdly sucks the energy out of the conversation.
Like I said in the beginning, your feeling of safety is paramount. And full disclosure, I always worked remote on Fridays…but that day was often filled with meetings which were remote anyway. But boy, do I miss working and collaborating in person.