Stay-at-home orders are lifting globally, and people are starting to get back to their workplaces. After working from home exclusively, it may be tricky to achieve the right work-life balance (or fulfillment!). Here’s how to set—or reset—a boundary that helps you retain what’s been positive about working from home and put aside those elements that haven’t been ideal.
First, reduce the pressure to accomplish perfect work-life balance. In reality, it’s tough to always find equilibrium. Sometimes you’ll spend more time on work and sometimes you’ll spend more time on home-related responsibilities. Longer term, the proportions will shift over weeks, months and years. This is appropriate and healthy. So avoid stressing about whether you have the balance just right, and focus on your fulfillment, considering it over an extended view.
Here are five additional ways to accomplish work-life fulfillment as you get back to the workplace:
Consider your work
Be intentional about the kind of work you need to get done. Home is great for some of your work, but not for other types of tasks. Likewise, being in your workplace might be better for certain types of efforts. Give thought to whether you need to focus, collaborate, learn, socialize or rejuvenate, and plan accordingly. The location that works best will depend on your circumstances. For example, if you have a quiet spot at home away from distractions, it might be an ideal place to focus on a challenging project. On the other hand, if home is full of interferences, it may be best to go to the office for the concentration you need.
Set a boundary
Ask your family members to respect your boundaries as you get back to the office. Being home all day, every day likely resulted in easy communication with your spouse, partner or family. When you grabbed coffee between meetings, you were able to check in about what was for dinner or as you worked at your kitchen table, you were able to touch base with your children about their activities. As you get back to the office, you may want more separation. Ask family members to contact you only if it’s really important and put off personal life a bit—until you’re outside working hours. You don’t necessarily need full separation, but you may want to retrain yourself and your loved ones to put a few more limits on your daily contact.
Get a routine
Consider how you can set routines that reinforce your preferred boundary between work and home. Even if it’s short, your commute can give you time to warm up or cool down before or after your day. A friend of mine always takes a shower when she gets home from work to clear her head, and another family has a rule—never walk in the door while still on the phone, so you can focus on home life as soon as you arrive. Select a routine that will work for you to create the appropriate distance and separation.
Be grateful
For many, work has traditionally been all-encompassing, and the last few months may have been the opposite—with home taking over the daily experience. Neither of these is ideal since you want the right mix. Work is a part of a full life and time to immerse in personal life is wonderful, but you need both in proportion. Focus on how much you’ve learned as you’ve worked from home exclusively. Remind yourself of all that has been terrific about it—proximity to family, the chance to sleep in a bit more or the ability to work in your sweatpants. Also recognize how much you’ve missed about the office—the chance to connect with your broader network or the opportunity to innovate in-person with your teammates. Work-life fulfillment is significantly enhanced when you feel gratitude, and the experience of the last few months has given you the chance to embrace all that is good about home and appreciate (through its absence) all that is positive about the workplace.
Renew friendships at work
One of the primary reasons people remain with their company is because they have a best friend at work. But chances are your network has narrowed in the last couple months. You may not have been in touch with contacts outside your immediate circle of colleagues with whom you work regularly. As you get back to the office, be intentional about reconnecting and reenergizing your relationships. Your work-life will feel more fulfilling when you have strong networks and great relationships both inside and outside of the workplace.
Work and life have come together during the coronavirus pandemic in ways you may never have imagined, and the result has been a good opportunity for learning and appreciating the benefits of both working from home and working in the office. As you get back to the workplace, realize it’s less about balance and more about fulfillment. In addition, be intentional about the kind of work you need to do and choose your best venue. Set boundaries with your family and establish constructive routines. Be grateful and renew friendships. These strategies will help ensure you have the greatest levels of work-life fulfillment as you shift from working at home to working at an office—or blending both.
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