With two years of working from home under our collective belts, many employees are finally being asked to return to the office under hybrid schedules. While working from home, we’ve grown accustomed to doing our jobs in relative isolation. As a result, shifting back to the realities of a regular commute and sharing a space with several coworkers may feel a bit alien at first. However, consider this widespread return to the workplace a fresh start—an opportunity to build better working habits, refresh your daily rituals, and make changes that keep both your productivity and contentment on the rise.
Readjusting to Other People
Over the past few months, employees may have gotten used to having a lot of space and comparative quiet compared to their pre-pandemic workplace (or maybe, working from home was a noisy nightmare—everyone’s WFH experience has varied). However, more and more of your colleagues will soon be sharing the space, bringing with them the struggles and anxieties of a workforce that’s been largely isolated. A recent New York Times article touches on how to handle some of these issues: loud-talking or noisy coworkers, the unwanted smells emanating from microwaved leftovers, unanticipated interruptions throughout the day. These will all inevitably be a factor as people reestablish what it means to be an office worker in 2022.
Be sure to practice grace and forgiveness not only for your colleagues, but also for yourself. Just as the pandemic forced us to be flexible, reentering the workplace will require a bit more individual resilience as we get accustomed to the space and each other again. As author and workplace expert Lindsey Pollack says in the Times article: “Acknowledge that we are out of shape dealing with other people. Lower your expectations and assume that you’re going to have some annoyances. And really give thought to the new habits that you want to create from Day 1, and be deliberate about making changes now.”
About Those Old Habits and Routines…
Daily routines and small indulgences keep us grounded and give us both structure and a little something to look forward to—coffee from a favorite café, chatting with colleagues while settling in to work, grabbing lunch at that great spot by the office. Whatever your preferences, now is the time not only to return to old haunts, but also to explore new places and new ways of working. Make efforts to reconnect with your colleagues in a meaningful way. Utilize available workplace services and amenities. Check out a new restaurant that opened near the office. Participate in workplace events and build new connections while also emphasizing your own professional development. By doing things that make you feel more productive and more involved your workplace community, you can lay a fresh foundation to achieve new goals and pursue ongoing success.
Regarding routines, be sure you’re not overextending yourself—even adding a commute back into your life will likely take some adjustment. Many will return to a more flexible work environment and enjoy a rare opportunity to shape the workplace experience. Consider what you need to be at your best and let workplace leaders know what’s working and what isn’t.
Focus on the Experience
With employers making extra efforts to appeal to employees and provide a better experience, you may see some changes in your workplace. The pandemic forced people to reexamine their work habits broadly. In this time of transition, take some time to identify what you like about your work experience and what could be different. With so much in flux, everything from where you sit to when you come to the office has the potential to change. If something would make your job easier or more efficient, let your supervisor or HR know about it—now more than ever, leaders may be open to new ideas on how to solve emerging problems.
Over the past two years, we've all witnessed tremendous amounts of change and experienced an unprecedented, world-historical stressor. As we begin to rebuild something similar to our pre-COVID lives, workers now have an opportunity to continue shaping the workplace and cultivate a space that allows them to collaborate successfully and get the most out of their days. Although we're still in the early stages of reestablishing what normal looks like, we're closer than we've been in years; that alone is cause for celebration.
Entering the Tween Years of Smart Workspace
Digital Solutions & Strategy Lead
January of every year seems to bring out the crystal ball gazers of every tech industry. A new year – and some would argue (incorrectly, but maybe that’s just me and Seinfeld) a new decade – gives rise to reflection as the last year closes and the annual cycle begins anew.
Education From Afar: Perspectives on Virtual Learning
Communications Lead
Host’s goals of providing increased digital and virtual learning options have been on the agenda for some time. However, with a global pandemic shuttering offices throughout the world, our learning and development professionals have had to expedite these options to ensure that new hires receive the same level of expert training, even if the training isn’t performed in person.
Bringing a New Member onto Your Remote Team
Director, Global Hospitality Operations
New employees join organizations every day, including during this unprecedented time where many are working remotely during the COVID outbreak. While it's a best practice to spend face-to-face time when onboarding, right now that's just not an option most of the time. Employee onboarding lays the foundation for the success of new hires at your company and provides a baseline to make connections going forward.
Leading Virtual Teams
Global Hospitality
Leading virtual teams can become untenable if you expect the virtual world to correlate perfectly with a traditional office environment. According to a recent study by the Harvard Business Review, 82 percent of virtual teams fell short of their goals. With that said, everything that makes for a strong leader in an office is twice as important in the virtual landscape.
The Leader's Role in Fostering New Social Norms as Workplaces Reopen
By now, almost all organizations around the world are somewhere on their re-opening journey, whether starting to plan, bringing employees back to the workplace, or assessing “what’s next” for the future of their work environments. Companies and organizations are appropriately focused on a range of activities such as resetting the physical work environment to achieve social distancing, installing signage, adjusting building systems, securing sustainable quantities of supplies, and adapting service levels in areas such as cleaning and food service.
Patrick Goes to Work
Global Hospitality Lead
When I’m focused on exciting new projects and things are going well, it’s always a surprise when they go awry unexpectedly. However, surprise doesn’t adequately cover our collective reaction to the rise of a global pandemic.
The Double Shift Juggling Parenting and Working During the Coronavirus
Director, Deployment and Operations
Working parents are facing a particularly challenging time, as the boundaries between work and home have completely broken down, resulting in the need for parents to juggle between parent mode to work mode and back again each day. The “double shift” is now the “double double shift.” Between putting three meals on the table, homeschooling, hosting Zoom meetings and conference calls, doing laundry, cleaning the house and trying to be present as both an employee and a parent, working parents are struggling and facing burnout.
Customer Service Keeps Us Connected, Safe and Well – Let’s Celebrate It!
Global Hospitality Lead
I think it’s worth our time to reflect on what customer service has meant to us in the past, what it means right now as our social lives are stunted by pandemic concerns, and what it will look like once we finally navigate our way through this challenging era of our lives.
The Employee Experience Formula That Inspires Innovation
Host Labs Lead
It will likely come as no surprise that our evolving workspaces, enabled by technology, outfitted with the most coveted amenities and served by hospitality experts, are designed to make employees feel valued, signaling to them that the work they do is important and impactful. But what about when the workspace provided by an employer is removed (even temporarily) and placemaking becomes a virtual endeavor?
Delight in the Workplace: An Opportunity for Limitless Value
Host Labs Lead
As surprising as it may seem coming from a commercial real estate company, the Host team obsesses over enriching lives and creating delight for people who work in the buildings we manage. We consider the daily journey of our customers and map both their current and best experiences in the workplace.
Why Workplace Experience Platforms Need the Human Element
Thoughtful Reads: The Importance of In-Between Moments
The Value of Authenticity
Employee Experience
Thoughtful Reads: Guide to the Hybrid Workplace
What We've Learned: Host Conversations #1
What Is the Workplace Experience Anyway?
Employee Experience
5 Hospitality Skills That Prepare You for the Corporate World
Thoughtful Reads: Tech Tools for Hybrid Work
Small Things: Host Team Recipes #1
Hospitality
Employee Experience Can Make or Break Your Business
Employee Experience
Thoughtful Reads: The Sensitivity Revolution
Host Conversations: Customer Service Week
Three Key Drivers of Employee Wellbeing
Wellness
Thoughtful Reads: Worker Risks Are Paying Off
