How to find your new routine when returning back to the office ?

DUBAI, UAE - Aug. 30, 2021 - PRLog -- But as workplaces reopen and we start to get back out into the world, it will be time to find another new normal. And going back to the way things were isn't possible, says Reena B. Patel, psychologist and author of Winnie & Her Worries.

The first step is to accept that there will be an emotional change, says Patel. "We've been working from home and isolated for almost a year and a half," she says. "Going back into a physical work will be a transition. Know and be aware that you will have valid concerns and feelings. We're not going to wake up and go back to what was pre-pandemic. Too much has happened."

HOW WE CHANGED

Even if the pandemic didn't affect you as much as others, you've probably developed secondary trauma, says Patel. "You may not have lost a loved one or gotten COVID, but you watched the world around you suffer," she says. "We all have altruistic genes and feeling helpless and hopeless can weigh on you. Stressors and pile up and cause a lot of uneasiness."

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You also became accustomed to a new schedule and routine, which have been in place for more than a year. "We're used to Zoom meetings and being able to multitask while not physically being present, like texting below the computer screen," says Patel.

A year of isolation has also created a sense of interim agoraphobia because there haven't been opportunities to physically engage with others. "We have to relearn some of those social skills," says Patel. "Although it was missed, it can cause anxiety in the beginning."

HOW TO FIND A NEW NORMAL

Many of us have created a dependence on being home where we feel safe from outside stressors. We got used to taking precautions to protect ourselves and leaving them behind can create an internal conflict. If you will be going back to an office environment, start small, Patel suggests. Ask to start with a half-day return to the office, or transition back to work in the fall, especially if you must figure out childcare.

"A transition period will provide you with a process of adjusting," says Patel. "Allow yourself time. And talk to your employer to learn what mitigations have been put in place. It's okay to ask what is being done to keep employees safe."

Source: https://www.fastcompany.com/90652251/how-to-find-your-new-routine-when-returning-back-to-the-office

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