It’s been over a year (416 days for me to be exact) since the pandemic caused many of use to pack up our finishes and continue work as normal from the comfort of our own home. Since that time articles, and podcasts, and endless amount of panel discussions have filled our airways with what does this mean going forward?
A few weeks ago, I noticed LinkedIn highlighted an article by Bloomberg on this idea of #FOMO (or, the Fear Of Missing Out). In the article, the author described this “FOMO Feeling” as the key to get workers back in the office because they don’t want to miss out on any of the things that would typically happen at work (like socializing with co-workers). A study in the article also referenced that since this #WFH (Work From Home) lifestyle, focus increased on average for workers (which, I’m assuming is what employers are looking for). True, collaboration between colleagues went down, but I’ve got to ask: how do we learn from that? How can we work to increase collaboration, even when remote/mixed working locations happen? It’s been a year, but this was new for almost everyone – there is a learning curve.
Think of it this way: when you fell off your bike while learning to ride it, I would hope you don’t give up to go back to just walking. You probably dusted yourself off and kept trying. Maybe adjusted your balance a bit more, maybe pedaled faster, maybe didn’t take that moment to look backward.
I still believe this challenge has given us the opportunity to innovate and move forward. I fear the need to “go backward” for the sake of needing to be comfortable where we once were will only delay /prevent our human ability to adapt and evolve. This is a tremendous opportunity for designers to consider all we have learned pre-pandemic and work from home to better determine what the future of work looks like.
Will #FOMO really kick start the office once again?
To read the full article from Bloomberg, please check out this link.
Photo by Calista Tee on Unsplash