5 Mindset Tips for Returning to the Office
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The reality is we’ve been home for over a year and a half and it’s a change for teams who are coming back to the office, either part-time or full time.
Today I have a list of 5 great mindset tips for navigating the change to a hybrid or in-person working landscape again.
First, a couple contextual pieces to keep in mind:
Most of us have been in a very controlled, isolated environment.
For example, working from my couch and now going back to an office and interacting with people, there's a lot of new things that didn't used to be there. At one point, that was pretty normal, but we haven’t dealt with it for a while.
Things like having a commute, people cutting you off in traffic, or your barista having a bad day, or coworkers that are having a grumpy day or things that can throw you off that we're not necessarily used to dealing with.
Another thing is just dynamics of office again.
Not that everything about going back to the office is negative! But, things like gossipy coworkers could throw you off if you haven’t done some mindset work to prepare for it.
It’s also important to acknowledge that we've collectively all been through a pretty major trauma and everybody has dealt with this in very different ways and had very different experiences. Some people may have become a caregiver for parents, or lost friends or family members.
There's a lot of stuff that's happened, which I think results in people having a little bit shorter fuse.
So knowing some or all of those things are at play, here are 5 mindset tips for going back into the office:
1. Lengthen your fuse
Something important for you to be aware of is be slow to become frustrated and assume negative intent on behalf of other people, etc. Don't be quick to trigger.
If you have stuff you're dealing with, make sure that that's not being taken out in an inappropriate time or place with your co workers and other people and things that work that can just bother you that otherwise wouldn't normally bother you as much.
2. Extend more grace to people
Flip side of that exact coin is to extend a little bit more grace to people.
You've got coworkers and people around you that have been dealing with stuff, just like you. It's just true for all of us. It's a lot of heavy things that we've all had to deal with and are still dealing with and navigating and just be conscious of that.
3. Make sure you have positive outlets for yourself
That means making sure that you are taking care of yourself, your body, your mental health, having positive outlets, pursuing things in your life that bring you joy.
These are good things for you to be focused on and doing, whatever that looks like for you, but focusing on self care so that you can show up as the best version of yourself with your co-workers at work to do what you need to do in terms of your job.
4. Focus on what you can control
Another thing that is always good practice is to focus on what you can control and always inside that category is your attitude, your energy level, your choice of words, your body language, the way that you talk to other people, and the way that you treat other people.
These are things that you have control over regardless of what is happening around you.
“Be in control of your own weather.”
I want to share a quote that I heard from a workshop that I just did. Somebody shared this, and I really love it, and that is to be in control of your own weather.
I love that as a metaphor of the energy that you bring to a room, to a meeting, to a relationship, to a conversation. It could be sunshine and blue skies or cloudy, thunder and tornadoes, etc.
5. Adopt a practice of gratitude
The last thing I want to share is gratitude, which is something big for me personally. It does a lot to pull me out if I'm feeling sticky or having a challenge time with anything.
There are things in your life that you're happy for, that you're grateful for. So focus on those things. Thank those people. Put energy and focus into the things that you're grateful for as much as possible to cultivate and practice gratitude. I think it's doing something kind for somebody else.
Just some tips from your pal Galen here. I hope some of those things are useful to you to think about as we all sort of move back into some version of normal. Whatever that looks like.
Alright, I love you. Go be awesome.
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This article was created by Galen Emanuele for the #culturedrop. Free leadership and team culture content in less than 5 minutes a week. Check out the rest of this month's content and subscribe to the Culture Drop at https://bit.ly/culturedrop
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