(Still) struggling with post lockdown return to work
Discussion
I have a job that I really like, that I am very good at, but I have been having a terrible time for the last 12-18 months.
Through ‘mature lockdown’ - mid 2020 through to about September 2021, I was working more or less at home. As were most of my colleagues. Lots of my team members were in every day because they needed specialist facilities. I would go in to work about once a week to talk to them there (as well as have online meetings).
During that period I had my most productive spell ever. I finished 4-5 projects of really high quality, with minimal stress, without really trying. There was way less ‘busyness’ about my job. Fewer meetings, fewer emails, fewer things to deal with. It was like clouds have lifted and suddenly there was complete clarity about and serenity around my work.
My job is hard, and I found it hard before lockdown, but I was still productive. However, since we’ve gone back to full in person (Oct 2021), I haven’t managed to complete a single meaningful big bit of work. its just been constant fire fighting and reactive mode stuff. I feel caught in a whirlwind of s
te. I am really struggling to readapt back to where I was before 2020.
I don’t seem to be able to push through the barriers that were always there before, that I could overcome before. Before lockdown, I didn’t even realise many of these things were barriers. But since the lockdown revealed to me what things could be like, and how much good work I could do under those conditions, I seem unable to cope with how it used to be. I am stressed out, angry at work, frustrated with colleagues, demotivated, etc. etc. It’s st because fundamentally, I like my job, my colleagues. I am (was) good at my job, too.
Has anyone else had this experience and what did you do?
Through ‘mature lockdown’ - mid 2020 through to about September 2021, I was working more or less at home. As were most of my colleagues. Lots of my team members were in every day because they needed specialist facilities. I would go in to work about once a week to talk to them there (as well as have online meetings).
During that period I had my most productive spell ever. I finished 4-5 projects of really high quality, with minimal stress, without really trying. There was way less ‘busyness’ about my job. Fewer meetings, fewer emails, fewer things to deal with. It was like clouds have lifted and suddenly there was complete clarity about and serenity around my work.
My job is hard, and I found it hard before lockdown, but I was still productive. However, since we’ve gone back to full in person (Oct 2021), I haven’t managed to complete a single meaningful big bit of work. its just been constant fire fighting and reactive mode stuff. I feel caught in a whirlwind of s
te. I am really struggling to readapt back to where I was before 2020.I don’t seem to be able to push through the barriers that were always there before, that I could overcome before. Before lockdown, I didn’t even realise many of these things were barriers. But since the lockdown revealed to me what things could be like, and how much good work I could do under those conditions, I seem unable to cope with how it used to be. I am stressed out, angry at work, frustrated with colleagues, demotivated, etc. etc. It’s s
t because fundamentally, I like my job, my colleagues. I am (was) good at my job, too. Has anyone else had this experience and what did you do?
bonerp said:
My issue with physically going into the office is that its become a social event and little work gets done. I do more, better, at home.
TEAMS is so effective now, I can't see the benefit of travelling for 2 hours each way (if the roads are good, which they rarely are!).
Exactly the same here. Its got to the point I enjoy going into the office and seeing the rest of the team. Ive even started enjoying the commute TEAMS is so effective now, I can't see the benefit of travelling for 2 hours each way (if the roads are good, which they rarely are!).
The downside is that I normally have a days worth of work/emails to catch up with when I get home.
sociopath said:
Why not talk to your bosses and highlight how much better you were working at home and come to a compromise?
It's obviously possible to do your job at home, so why not do more of it there?
I work in an environment where I could literally not come in for weeks, and nobody senior to me would even notice, as long as the few things that do require my presence were done. Of course, for my team, I do need to be in (or at least in contact) more regularly.It's obviously possible to do your job at home, so why not do more of it there?
The main thing preventing me from spending more days each week at home is that work appears in unpredictable patterns - e.g. most weeks I will need to be present for 3-5 hours worth of stuff, normally broken down into 1hr chunks, spread randomly across the week. It’s not ideal. There was something about the ability to spend every day at home, as part of a stable routine that was very powerful. This is a personal thing, I guess.
When I have had periods of time (1-2 weeks) where I could spend more time at home, it was very unstructured in terms of schedule (random days home/in work), which didn’t allow me to replicate the strong routine i had during lockdown (think Charles Darwin - https://dailyroutines.typepad.com/daily_routines/2... - in terms of rigidity, if not specific activities or magnitude or quality of output).
This is all a bit self indulgent, this post, but writing it has helped me figure out what I need to do/recreate - try to get regular ‘home’ days each week. Thanks for prompting that.
I have, in the past, made small suggestions about tweaks to scheduling. Unfortunately people have not been that receptive (I have quite an ‘enforcery’ rather than ‘enablery’ manager). I think may need to change the approach from ‘ask permission’ to ‘just do’ (again, lucky enough to be in a place where I can reasonably and acceptably do that). If nobody notices or minds, then the change would be ok…
GiantCardboardPlato said:
I work in an environment where I could literally not come in for weeks, and nobody senior to me would even notice, as long as the few things that do require my presence were done. Of course, for my team, I do need to be in (or at least in contact) more regularly.
The main thing preventing me from spending more days each week at home is that work appears in unpredictable patterns - e.g. most weeks I will need to be present for 3-5 hours worth of stuff, normally broken down into 1hr chunks, spread randomly across the week. It’s not ideal. There was something about the ability to spend every day at home, as part of a stable routine that was very powerful. This is a personal thing, I guess.
When I have had periods of time (1-2 weeks) where I could spend more time at home, it was very unstructured in terms of schedule (random days home/in work), which didn’t allow me to replicate the strong routine i had during lockdown (think Charles Darwin - https://dailyroutines.typepad.com/daily_routines/2... - in terms of rigidity, if not specific activities or magnitude or quality of output).
This is all a bit self indulgent, this post, but writing it has helped me figure out what I need to do/recreate - try to get regular ‘home’ days each week. Thanks for prompting that.
I have, in the past, made small suggestions about tweaks to scheduling. Unfortunately people have not been that receptive (I have quite an ‘enforcery’ rather than ‘enablery’ manager). I think may need to change the approach from ‘ask permission’ to ‘just do’ (again, lucky enough to be in a place where I can reasonably and acceptably do that). If nobody notices or minds, then the change would be ok…
You may already be aware but you have a right to ask for a permanent change to your contract, see:The main thing preventing me from spending more days each week at home is that work appears in unpredictable patterns - e.g. most weeks I will need to be present for 3-5 hours worth of stuff, normally broken down into 1hr chunks, spread randomly across the week. It’s not ideal. There was something about the ability to spend every day at home, as part of a stable routine that was very powerful. This is a personal thing, I guess.
When I have had periods of time (1-2 weeks) where I could spend more time at home, it was very unstructured in terms of schedule (random days home/in work), which didn’t allow me to replicate the strong routine i had during lockdown (think Charles Darwin - https://dailyroutines.typepad.com/daily_routines/2... - in terms of rigidity, if not specific activities or magnitude or quality of output).
This is all a bit self indulgent, this post, but writing it has helped me figure out what I need to do/recreate - try to get regular ‘home’ days each week. Thanks for prompting that.
I have, in the past, made small suggestions about tweaks to scheduling. Unfortunately people have not been that receptive (I have quite an ‘enforcery’ rather than ‘enablery’ manager). I think may need to change the approach from ‘ask permission’ to ‘just do’ (again, lucky enough to be in a place where I can reasonably and acceptably do that). If nobody notices or minds, then the change would be ok…
https://www.gov.uk/flexible-working
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