…And we’re back! Returning to the office after lockdown.
Back in March 2020, and what seems like a lifetime ago, talks of shelter in place were starting to ramp up.
We regrouped and decided as an agency that the safest option would be to work from home. We took our monitors back to our homes, set up makeshift offices, anticipating we’d be doing this for a month, max. That turned out to be 15 months.
Although the world outside was shifting, our team kept pressing forward, not missing a single beat. We carried on as usual with the addition of a morning meeting every day, some increased software, shoutout to Zoom and Teams, and for the most part, it seemed like the pandemic wasn't disrupting our workflow.
But then things became very real and very scary. People were dying, supply chain demands were getting thrown out of wack, fireworks were going off every night, protests were happening, it seemed like an apocalypse outside.
Knowing the mass amount of stress and anxiety everyone was under, our morning meetings quickly turned into a support group. Being the small, close team that we are, it was therapeutic to have a space to check in with each other, unplug from work and really understand how we were doing.
Our leadership could see that we were struggling. We were starting to become exhausted and worn out, and that type of mindset wasn’t good for our mental health or our work. We decided that as an agency we would be taking one Friday off a month; to reset and give ourselves a break. Ooh, how this changed things for the better.
Since the implementation of this system, we have blossomed as a team. Although we get Zoom fatigue, we have become masters of collaboration through screen shares, finding all workarounds to get the best result for our clients.
While we were thriving in our home offices, performing great as a unit, we missed each other! There’s a certain feeling from seeing people’s faces in person that can’t be replicated by any platform or software. As vaccines started to roll out, the possibility of reuniting as a team started to become more of a reality, and we were ready.
And then what seemed to happen in a blink of an eye did; we all got vaccinated. Yay science! With the relief of knowing our team was protected, we began talking about how we wanted to move forward. Like other companies, we’ve opted to go with a hybrid model; three days in the office and two days at home. The first week of June was our first time testing this out, and we feel like it is giving us the best of both worlds.
While there are still some kinks to work out, we couldn’t be more thankful to all be in the same room together. We’re excited to see what this summer and year hold for our mighty team; and feel very thankful that we’ll be able to toast to that in person at our next happy hour.
Cheers!