Embedded Files
Nickolas Gough
February 1, 2023
After ~2.5 years of working from home, I finally returned to the office part-time and I’d like to share my thoughts and experience with it!
So, I worked in the office part-time from August to October 2022, returned to working from home full-time for a while, and then returned to the office part-time again near the end of November. I’d like to talk about what I did wrong the first time, what I did right the second time, and what I’ve learned overall.
How it started
Now, I first returned to working in the office part-time in August 2022, when I started biking to the office about once or twice a week. This was actually a really novel and refreshing experience for me as I wasn’t much of a biker. Starting and ending the day with a good bike ride was a nice change (the exercise and fresh air were both very enjoyable). I also enjoyed seeing my coworkers and just being away from home for a bit.
However, near the end of October, when the weather started to cool, I returned to working from home full-time, with my reasoning being that I couldn’t justify the commute if I wasn’t biking because that meant I was no longer benefiting from it*.
*Note, I was benefitting from my commute because my bike ride is ~25 minutes to/from the office, so ~50 minutes of riding my bike meant I had completed my workout for the day. Driving to work/home when the weather cooled did not have comparable health benefits (in terms of physical exercise).
How it's going
As I said, I started returning to the office part-time again near the end of November 2022, so I haven’t been working in the office for long, but I’ve been in at least once each week, sometimes twice. I’ve made my designated in-office day align with my team’s PBRs so that I can join in person and I’ve been scheduling in-person mentorship sessions in the 1on1 rooms on the 12th floor. My team also scheduled an in-office team planning/bonding day for December 2022, which was quite successful and enjoyable.
What was I doing wrong?
Well, if you re-read what I was doing before and what I’m doing now, you’ll likely notice one key difference. I didn’t mention much about my in-office interactions when I described what I was doing before but I did mention it a bit more when I described what I’m doing now, which is the primary factor for value. When I first started returning to the office on a regular cadence, I was basically just coming into the office to do the same thing I was already doing from home. I would set up my laptop, jump into virtual meetings, and work at my desk. I was primarily motivated by my bike-ride commute because it was fun and kept me healthy. So, when the weather cooled, I stopped biking, and I returned to working from home because I didn’t think there was any value in working in the office.
In retrospect, what I was doing should have been the start of an experiment, not the end. What could I have done better? Well, there are a lot of things I could have done better, actually. Firstly, I could have better aligned my days in the office with when my teammates would also be in the office. While I was biking, the weather was the primary factor for whether I went in or not because I didn’t want to bike in the rain, but that didn’t help me align my in-office schedule with others' in-office schedules. 🤦♂️ Secondly, I could have better planned my days in the office with more clear objectives and intentions. If I was in the office, I should have been doing things that were better done in the office than at home.
What have I learned?
In summary, I’ve learned that just returning to the office isn’t quite enough. I’ve learned that with a hybrid work-location model, where I work in the office some days and work from home other days, I can’t just come into the office like I used to (pre-2020 times) and expect there to be value in it. I need to think about when I’m going to work in the office and consider what work would best be done while I’m there, and I need to do a bit of work to make the office a valuable asset for myself and my team.
So, from my experience, here are a few things I’d suggest doing to take advantage of the office space and make it a valuable asset for yourself and your team:
Experiment with how your team can benefit from working in the office
Would your team benefit from in-person meetings with stakeholders?
Would your team benefit from in-person whiteboarding sessions?
Would your team benefit from in-person mentorship sessions?
Maybe your team could benefit from a bit of in-person social time?
Make a plan for when you’ll come into the office and at what cadence
Working in the office is most effective when your schedule aligns with others' schedules. If you don’t make a plan, there’s a good chance you’ll be working remotely in the office, which isn’t much different than working remotely at home because you’re still working remotely. Also, this does require communication, which I think is better done in advance so you can better align your schedules.
Make a plan for what work you’ll do while you’re in the office
Team collaboration and learning are “work” just as much as coding is. If you’re going to be working in the office for the day, you should focus on work that’s better done in the office than at home. That could be a team collaboration or learning session, a team meeting with stakeholders, or a mentorship session. Personally, I like to plan my mentorship sessions for when I’m working in the office because I find in-person whiteboarding to be effective for communicating and teaching ideas.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I’ve learned that working in the office is actually only as effective and valuable as the effort you put into making it effective and valuable. Of course, individuals and teams vary, so working in the office may look a bit different between individuals and teams, but I think we can all take advantage of the office and make it a valuable asset in some way.
So, I’ve shared my experience returning to the office, and I’d be curious to hear yours, too, so don’t be afraid to share! Also, please share any advice you have for making working in the office more effective/valuable! I’d love to hear it all! 🙂
Oh, and hit me up if you’re interested in a game of ping-pong! There are two tables now! 😜
Disclaimer: I in no way suggest that I can consistently serve and/or return the ball while playing a game of ping-pong.
Page updated
Report abuse