67: The Real Return to Office Debate

As the scientific community debates the future of COVID-19, businesses and schools are sending the message that life will start returning to “normal” as summer turns to fall. Many of our clients, friends, and family members (and even ourselves) are therefore grappling with the question, “what does it look like to return to normal?” As we’ve had deep discussions around this topic, we’ve noticed that there are an extremely diverse set of wants around the post-pandemic work environment. Some people want life to look exactly like it did in 2019. Some want it to look exactly like it did in February of 2021. But everybody wants something. That, it seems, is the real question each of us needs to consider: What are you longing for? Throughout our episode we explore the origin, and importance, of that question. We also highlight why it’s critical to be specific around our needs, wants, and values and why we need to have a deep sense of consciousness and honesty around the role work played – and will play – in satisfying our longing. We also talk about whether work is a context or an excuse when it comes to our needs, and how to know whether we undersize or oversize the importance of our physical work environment.   Inside Job is brought to you by Nayla Bahri and Eric Johnson.   To learn more about us and our work and to join our mailing list, visit www.insidejobthepodcast.com or email us at [email protected].   To learn more about the ideas and resources discussed in this episode, check out our show notes.   Let’s connect! Instagram Facebook   We’d love to hear from you.