I’m starting week 2 on working in the office instead of work from home. Not much has surprised me those far. So here’s the scoup on how it’s going….

Commuting …

The drivers? Also as bad as I remember. People are crazy trying to get one up on the next person in the lane next to them. Before lockdown, the morning news usually had at around 2 to 3 crashes they discussed. I used to think it was because of all the people on the road. Not so. Less people, still around 3 accidents per morning commute.

Office Environment

Still as loud as it was before. Noise cancelling headsets are a must. The A/C is loud along with the music. Even being able to hear someone when they are not speaking through a mask is difficult. The good thing about the lockdown, people got used to having video calls at their desks instead of crowding around a table and shouting. Now, even with everyone on the meeting in the office, we use video chats instead of in person meetings. Yes, I’ll admit it is nice to see people and talk with people again. I just feel a little exposed.

Covid Precautions

The rules are pretty basic at my office. If you are sitting at your desk, you can remove your mask. If you are in a meeting or walking around, you put a mask on. You should observe the 6 ft distance when in groups. Wipe your desk when you come in and when you with a disenfectant wipe. Put everything up so the desk can be cleaned by the cleaning crew at night.

Day 1 I arrived with my own disenfectant wipes and hand sanitizer. As I walked in, I noticed people standing in groups at desks with no masks on and much closer than 6 feet. I saw some people wearing masks as they walked to the break room, but no one had a mask on at their desk. There is a tempreature check at the door when you enter, but it looks like it is a honor system since no one was checking or validating.

My desk is in the middle of the row. There is someone in front of me and to my left. Currently the two desks to my right are vacant. The desks that the width of the cube are 48 inches and the length desk is 24 inches wide. So we have about 72 inches width in a cube. There are privacy pannels that are about 18 inches high between the side desks with the dual monitors playing the role of privacy pannels between the people facing each other. Needless to say, I feel a little too open with too many people around me to take my mask off. I want whatever protection that mask can give me!

I do not see any disenfectant wipes available and glad I brought my own. When I wiped down the desks, I went through 4 wipes and they were still black — my desk has a “white” finish. Since I’ve been back, I have not seen a single person wipe down their desk when then come in or before they leave. I’ve done both every day. Today as I was leaving, the wipes were slightly gray. I think I’m getting the desk clean.

How safe to I feel being in the office? On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being pre-Covid and 1 being lockdown pre-vaccine, I feel about a 5. I am fully vacinated. But according to the CDC guidelines, we are not really practicing safe socialization. I know the masks are not that comfortable. I know some people think it is a “rights” issue. I disagreee. It is a health issue. I don’t have the “Right” nor do the people around me have the “Right” to endanger the health and well-being of others. Therefore, I have my mask on until I leave for lunch. I eat my lunch in my car, then put my mask on for the afternoon.

You can review the CDC Covid-19 guidelines here … https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html

Attitudes

This is where I have to hand it to my team mates. They are very understanding of my feelings and have tried hard to accomodate my unease. People do put a mask on when approaching me. They do try to maintain their distance for my comfort. No one has tried to impose their desire for a freer lifestyle on me. I’m trying to do the same while establishing a comfort level. I did notice other people eating in their cars and there are a small handfull, like me, who wear their masks all day.

We had a contractor come in today and he was in our large conference room with us. There were only 5 in the room that would normally hold 20. The first thing he did was take his mask off. When he saw none of us take ours off, he put his back on. We had a short conversaton — “yes, the masks are uncomfortable.” “My kids think I’m a pansy because they have to keep their’s on all day.” After a few comments, I chimed in,

“For me, a small level of discomfort is preferable over the discomfort of a ventelator. It’s a simple equation.”

I hope it didn’t sound condesending, but yes, the mask is uncomfortable. So are seatbelts and a lot of other safety gear. But I’d rather wear safety gear than suffer the consequences!

Wrapping it up

So I’m back working in the office. I’m not comfortable with being there. I’m not getting as much work done due to the commute. But I’m also not going to go back to working 3-4 hours in the evening after I get home also. After a year of having the evening to decompress, I realize how important off hours are to my mental health.

There are a lot of lessons we can learn from the Covid lockdown. I think we are still sorting out some of those lessons. Yet, flex time has been discussed long before Covid. I’m a big proponent of flex time. Not everyone agrees with me. That is a topic for another post.

For the time being, I’m really trying to figure out what the benefit is for me to be physically in the office. Hopefully, I won’t get Covid while I’m trying to figure out why I should be out in public right now!