The future of my working settings

I’m curious to see how I’d be balancing all the things I’ve gained and all the elements I’ve been missing during these months in my future working settings

Nowadays, after more than 18 months under the Covid-19 pandemic and all the lockdown measures/restrictions imposed around the globe (including working from home), people are having a mix of thoughts/feelings about the future of their working conditions/preferences.

From what I have been reading, listening to, and informally researching among the people on my network, there are several scenarios that applied for employees, freelancers, and employers/directors, and other C-level leaders.

I agree with some of those ideas, but also, I can’t swallow some of them.

For instance, I can’t understand how some leaders are enforcing their people to get back to the working situation pre-pandemic (aka long and boring office time, giving more importance to the physical presence of the employees, control-freak instead of trust, etc.). I wish they could get back in time and heard (read) their reflections at the very beginning of the first wave/lockdown when the idea of change and new ways of doing things were top on the intentions.

I also have difficulties understanding employees and freelancers giving up easily all the gains that remote working brought to their professional experiences. I’m not saying that everything has been positive, but can’t help to see how quickly people become obedient again…….

It would be easier for me to do a post criticizing or commenting on others’ ideas, however, I opted for writing down here where I position myself towards the future of (my) working.

The first point is very simple and straightforward: I can’t stay forever working (exclusively) from home!

I need some human interaction, spontaneity, an informal non-virtual cup of coffee, to listen to some laughs (probably mine as well), and many little things that make a working space alive.

However, I’m not interested in rigid working hours, formal dress codes (I love my shorts and sandals so much), or any kind of control-freak-initiatives of an enterprise/organization.

I want to keep the quality of my environment. I appreciate things in my life that before were not my priority, therefore I’m not interested in getting myself in long commuting, but, if necessary, only by public transport, or by cycling. Neither I want to return to pay expensive rent in a city or neighborhood closer to the “office”.

I want to be surrounded by people, exchanging ideas, collaborating in projects, and sharing knowledge and experiences. But I don’t want to weaken the connection I have created with my kids now that we spend more time together or the sudden breaks, I often take to walking my dog independently of the weather conditions.

I want to keep using and exploring digital platforms for meetings and workshops online because the variety of the possibilities have contributed to boosting my creativity, my curiosity, and helped me to accompany transformation processes in a non-conventional format thus bringing innovation to my daily work. But I’m missing the natural exchange of ideas, overenthusiastic moments, the loudness, and all the laughs of in-person workshops.

I have managed to “travel” to several corners of the world in one single day thanks to the technology and the fact that people were much more eager to connect, to share knowledge and expertise than during the pre-pandemic times. I have increased my connections with very interesting people, more than I could have imagined. I have also been able to be confronted and challenged while participating in fruitful debates on topics such as inclusion, gender, privileges run by inspiring people from different parts of the planet.

However, I’m missing a good hug, a warm-not-online welcoming, a nice walk side by side, or even a shoulder where to rest when needed.

I’m curious to see how I’d be balancing in my future working-settings all the things I’ve gained and all the elements I’ve been missing during these months.

For sure I have a couple of non-negotiable things:

* Not full-time working from home, not full-time at a fixed office. A mix of both plus some time on coworking spaces (formal or informal) seems the ideal setting.

* Returning to some live workshops and team dynamics, without losing the curious mindset to use technology to boost creativity, innovation, and cocreation.

* Prioritize the human connection, especially my family.

* Keep the comfy attitude, dress code, and behavior even when not working from home.

* Never allowing myself not to drink an excellent quality coffee!