During the pandemic, a lot of people were introduced to the joys, and the agonies, of working from home. Some people thrived while others struggled, but eventually everyone managed to adapt to their new workspaces. Now, over a year later, companies are opening their offices again and calling their workers back to the office.
If you’re one of these people, you might be a bit stressed out over having to return to your former workplace and figuring out how you’ll adjust to a pre-COVID schedule. That’s why we’ve come up with some tips that will help make your return to the office easier.
As the old adage says, practice makes perfect, so pick a day before you have to go back to the office to go through your pre-work routine. Set your alarm to its new time, then wake up and go through your morning routine.
If haven’t visited your office workspace since working from home, don’t be surprised if it needs a little TLC before you feel comfortable working there again. You can start by dusting and cleaning your workspace, as well as going through any old files and folders to see if they're still relevant.
Once you’re done with that, though, go one step further and personalize your workspace with some items that will make you more comfortable, so long as they fall within your office’s guidelines. You can get some new photos of your family, buy a memory foam seat cushion, or even invest in some wireless earpods so you can listen to music while you work. It's worth pointing out that if you use a rewards credit card to fund your purchases, you might be able to earn back some of the money you spent.
Tidying up and revamping your workspace will give you something to look forward to when you have to start working from the office again. Not only that, studies have shown that a pleasing, clean environment is great for your overall mental health.
As you’re revamping your workspace, you might also want to think about doing the same to your wardrobe. If you’re like most people who transitioned from an office workspace to a home office, you probably traded your work attire for more comfortable clothing, like jeans, sweatpants and even t-shirts. It’s understandable if you’re less than eager to get into your button-down shirts, dress pants and blouses.
When you experience a significant life event, you should take the time to review your budget. Changing where you’ll spend most of your day definitely qualifies.
If you already had a personal budget in place before you started working from home, your first step should be to look at it again, since it more than likely already has the expenses you planned for the last time you worked at the office. If you don’t have your previous budgets, you’ll want to think about the new expenses you’ll be incurring, from gasoline for your morning commute to the occasional meal out at lunch or coffee at your favorite drive-through stand. You’ll also have to figure out what budget categories you’ll cut in order to accommodate the new monthly expenses.
For many people, working from home completely erased the line between “work” and “life.” A lot of people had to find their own work/life balance, and as a result many people got used to staying up late, sleeping in late and working hours well outside the usual 8 to 5.
Now that you’re returning to the 8 to 5 workday, though, you’ll want to focus on getting a good night’s sleep. Getting a good night’s sleep can help you be more alert in the mornings, so you won’t forget your lunch or, worse, that important proposal you were working on at home. It’s also one of the best ways to protect yourself from emotional and physical stress.
If you're a night owl, though, and you're having trouble falling asleep, you don't have to resign yourself to watching Internet videos until you start to feel sleepy. Take advantage of your circadian rhythm by doing some night banking at our Advisor Supported Kiosks and get a jump on the next day.
Returning to the office after working at home for the past year can be stressful, but if you take the time to prepare, as well as spruce up your wardrobe and workspace, you’ll discover that returning to the office will not only be less stressful, but even enjoyable.
You can also prepare yourself to work from the office by becoming a member of First Alliance Credit Union. You can use our Advisor Supported Kiosks to do your banking on your own time instead of trying to fit your schedule around our lobby hours, and the My Money tool in our online banking system will help you revise your budget to include back-to-the-office expenses, like coffee and gasoline.