It’s ok to reset your work routine multiple times
As we continue to navigate our way through hybrid working, flex working and various other working models, the thing that I keep realising is it’s ok to reset our routines and start again. What worked in January 2020 radically changed in March 2020, changed again in October 2020, and went through further iterations until July 2021. I don’t think anyone’s work pattern remained the same in that entire period.
We are regularly learning and re-learning what we need from a wellbeing perspective, from a performance perspective, from a productivity perspective, and all of that helps us to build a better sense of a work routine that works for us.
It can be really easy to think that you’re routine is failing, and that mostly happens because we haven’t given ourselves the permission to really figure out what we need - and in many cases people don’t have the right kind of home environment to work well. So, you can experiment with variations of WFH, but if you haven’t got somewhere to WFH well, then that’s valuable learning.
Interestingly, one of the common reasons we’ve found people coming to work from The Epping Connection is home renovations and not wanting to be disrupted by home building works. We’ve also had members join as although they could work from home, they simply don’t feel they can be productive. Our flex members work from our coworking space as they miss the social aspect of being in an office and having random and fun conversations. The flexibility of hot desks, meeting rooms and solo workspaces means coworking spaces like TEC have a lot of relevance.
We can give ourselves permission to really experiment better with our working conditions. Some companies are focused on a phased or full return to the office. That’s going to be problematic from an inclusion point of view. Many people have adapted their home routine to fit around health needs, caring needs or parenting needs. To then be required to return to the office means a real shift for people who have learned they can be just as productive by working according to their schedules and meeting work requirements.
Hybrid working isn’t the full answer, and neither is a full return to the office, or a fully remote workforce. What’s important is for each company to understand more closely their business processes and how they can still be achieved through different working models. Importantly, the culture of a company is cited as the key reason people should come back to an office space. That’s valid only insofar as a physical environment serves as a vehicle for collective meaning making and providing a space for groups to collaborate. But for regular everyday productivity, many people are questioning if they need an office environment at all.
As we move into the end of the year, you should be thinking about how you can reset your routine now for the new year.
Coworking is an option to keep considering in this rapidly changing world, as it allows for people to experiment, and those experiments are valuable for learning what we need.
