When the world as we knew it shifted in March 2020 and my company pivoted from an office only situation to telework we thought it might last 2-3 weeks. The COVID-19 pandemic abruptly changed those early predictions. Fast forward, 18 months of working from home and now we’re back in the office Monday-Friday.  This adjustment has been difficult in obvious ways and ways I hadn’t initially considered.

I expected that picking out complete (office appropriate) outfits to wear, traveling via public transportation, interacting in person with other humans and paying attention in meetings would be difficult. However these 5 things have turned out to be the most challenging adjustments.

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1. Deliveries: As someone who loves online shopping, it was great being home to receive all of my packages as they arrived. I didn’t worry about porch pirates or asking a neighbor to secure my delivery until I got home.

2. Lunch break: Being able to run quick errands was clutch. A quick trip to the supermarket or post office meant I didn’t have to wait until the weekend when those places are usually crowded.

3. Monthly (PMS) Madness: Being in the comfort of my home while dealing with cramps, bloating, back pain, headaches and mood swings was better for myself and others.

4. Fiber filled foods: Without going into details let’s just say working from your couch gives you a certain level of flatulence freedom. You just don’t get that being in an office space.

5. Home-cooked meals: When most restaurants were shut down I did a lot of cooking. I got tired and bored with my own food. Now that I’m traveling to the office I’m spending too much money purchasing breakfast and lunch. Outside is expensive!

I’m grateful to be employed. I just wish we had a hybrid schedule to balance things out. How has your work schedule shifted or changed over the past 18 months?

Parenting humor laughter memes pandemic personal blog teleworking work life balance