A World in our Hands, so why not work together?

I’m the first person to admit it, I’m not a typical technologist. I would imagine that when you typically think of your “IT guy,” you probably think of someone who wears a nerdy t-shirt and shorts, someone who has a hard time talking to people, and while they fix your computer, you are never really sure how. This, is not me. I like to think that I’m a reasonably well-put-together guy who is able not only to speak to the users I help but also to spend a lot of my time showing the users I oversee how to use their technology effectively, which is kind of what I do on this blog, actually. The point of telling you this is to underline how the opinion of “work from home” is different from that of most people in my field.

Frankly, I’m really not a fan of it.

To be clear, I didn’t mind working from home when I absolutely had to, but I found that something was missing in my work life when I did it from home. I know that many people may disagree with me, but in my opinion, you lose something when you try to work with a bunch of people while isolating at home. When COVID-19 started and we were all forced to work from home, the pendulum swung so that we all became accustomed to working from home. Now, however, the pendulum is swinging the other way.

1) Work from anywhere was a temporary action, not a way of life – Like everyone else, when Covid hit and we were all required to work from home, I did a little happy dance because it meant that I didn’t have to get dressed up fancy to go to work. That being said, it didn’t take me long to miss putting on work clothes so that I would actually feel like I was “at work.” As part of my job, I provide a lot of desk-side support to the people in my office, and it’s challenging when you’re not able to be at their desk. While isolation was a necessary action, it was not meant to be a permanent change. Technology has allowed us to work together while separated, but we were meant to work in the same place at the same time.

2) Your office isn’t a place, it’s a state of mind – While this part is going to sound a little “Zen Master,” bear with me here. When I started working from home, I did what many people do: I worked in sweats and a t-shirt. However, I changed that fairly quickly to jeans and a button-up shirt. One of the things that I like about going to work is that when I go there, I get dressed up. When I was in sweats and a t-shirt, I wasn’t “Dressing for work.” This meant that I wasn’t being as productive as I could be, and that didn’t feel right. I get paid to do a job, so I should do a job right? So no matter where you are working, you should dress for your job. For me, getting dressed to work and then changing when I’m not at work was something that changed my mentality, allowing me to transition from home mode to work mode even when I was still at home.

3) Digital meetings are a great way to reach people, but in-person meetings are better – I grew up with a rule in my house: five minutes early is on time. When I was growing up, I thought it was to make sure I wasn’t late for things, but there is actually a deeper meaning. Arriving early demonstrates your interest in the topic of your meeting. The other thing I like about being early to meetings is that you can get through the “How was your weekend?” conversations without taking up meeting time. When you’re on a virtual meeting, you tend not to either show up or be let in until the meeting starts, and then you spend another five or so minutes with the “How was your weekend conversation.” Now, don’t get me wrong, I do like having those conversations with people, but if you have something you NEED to talk about, you don’t want to take up proper meeting time with other discussions about how your local sports team did over the weekend. There is also (from the IT guy’s point of view) a benefit of being in person, which is that users tend to ask for help if they can actually see you. A habit I’ve developed in my career is something I call “trolling for IT calls.” What this looks like is me wandering around aimlessly around the office, but in reality, if I walk around, I can make my presence known. People are more likely to call me over for a tech problem they are having if they actually see me passing by.

The pendulum has swung again, and there has been a significant push for everyone to return to the office. Personally, I’m happy about it because it means I will be able to help out more efficiently. While I am a bit more introverted, I enjoy talking to other people on a regular basis. Yes, we have the flexibility to work when and where needed. I often joke about how, with the types of setups that are available, I could work anywhere in the world, even sitting that I have worked off the back of a boat once. The trick is not that we CAN work from anywhere, but rather that working in areas with others makes communication and building of communities so much easier when we don’t have to do it alone.

Which do you prefer? Work from home or in an office?

Let me know in the comments section below. If you like this blog post and want to see more, you can follow me on Social Media (LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook @jasonlovefiles) or Subscribe to my blog to get new content delivered directly to your mailbox.