I spent a full day at my office yesterday for the first time ever. I recognize office is a term with a very different definition now than 18 months ago. I have been working from my office all this time but how I defined it has changed. It was a room with other familiar faces for years, traditional desks, motivational words on the walls, trophies on the shelves, and a conference table. We even used Zoom for corporate wide trainings and meetings with other offices. Then the pandemic hit. My office became an old desk placed in the breakfast area next to a 9th grader who was also using his computer in the kitchen area and doing his work. I already loved that 9th grader but I enjoyed spending two months next to him every day. He’d do schoolwork, play a bit and was always a constant reminder that human beings like to be next to each other.
After I was hired into my current company as a chemical recruiter thru a virtual process, I created a new office in the basement. It was next to a pool table, a Monet replica on the wall and a couple of chairs. I got a new table, got some office and desk supplies that matched and got to work. I went down in the morning, surfaced for a quick lunch and went back there for the afternoon. I would only notice other people in the house during the day when someone would work out in the room next door. Bench pressing can be felt across the walls as you may know.
With one of the changes in our family life the pandemic had brought, I moved my office to the guest room upstairs and had a window! That was nice, I could see people, neighbors in the morning, mid-morning, lunch time, afternoon, and early evening. I never realized how active there is in my neighborhood!
But yesterday I spent the entire day at my work office. What we call the worldwide headquarters. With this “new normal” we had more people working remotely in several states of course than in the actual office during this past year. With the pandemic situation improving, I decided to experience the worldwide headquarter.
It felt like coming home. I am where I want to be. I met my boss and my colleagues whom I had only met thru a screen. There is something about having the energy of being close to a person that is not captured on a screen. We all know that. But I felt it yesterday.
Are you where you are supposed to be? Everyone’s work experience is personal to them including the environment they thrive the most in. With the changes brought on by the pandemic, work environments evolved. If you’d like to talk about your career don’t hesitate to reach out to your chemical industry partners.
-Written by Sylvia Moreira: Specialty Chemical Recruiter