The biggest question on most people’s minds right now is, “Do I go back to working at my office, or do I continue to stay home?”
Ultimately, the answer to that question is something only you can answer. Yes, you want to get away from your family for a bit and there is nothing worse than being trapped inside all day. But, on the other hand, you don’t want to waste time driving into work every day, and you also don’t have to buy as much gas. Will your workspace be as safe as your home? Is your coworker sneezing due to allergies or do they have COVID?
For the past few months, we have acclimated our routines and work lives to efficiently work from home. Why change? Let’s first look at the positives and negatives of working from home.
 
Working From Home
Positives:

• We have all saved money on gas. In fact, the lack of demand for fuel has created a precipitous drop in prices. We don’t know about you but instead of having to fill up the tank once a week, it’s now moved to once a month at most!
• We all know that time is money! While working from home you have saved time on your commute to work. That gives you more time to either work, tackle tasks at home, relax, or workout.
• Relaxed dress code! Especially in this heat! Wearing shorts and a t-shirt is a breath of fresh air!
• Safety from the virus and all other unknowns. Even though we have been beginning to see a glimmer as the numbers dwindle, there is still a bunch of uncertainty when going to your office. Especially since we don’t want to put our families and others in danger.
• Getting to spend more time with those you love! Face it, you actually loved being able to cuddle with your dog or cat all day while you were working. It’s okay we were there too!

Negatives:

• If you have a family, then they have annoyed you at least once in some way. If they haven’t then you are lucky!
• We are continuing to blow through our wireless data. We have never witnessed such a large spike in the importance of data streaming caps. All that stress generally lives at your office but not anymore!
• Distractions. We all know they are there. Your cute furry friend that now solely survives off of your attention. And your kids keep running out of ideas to keep themselves busy. Food! Don’t even get us started on the food in your refrigerator just calling your name. Or those cookies that need to be baked!

 
Working at the office
Positives:

• Receiving the mental and physical satisfaction of being able to move, get outside a bit more, seeing new things, and allowing your senses to overload.
• If your office park has awesome amenities like food trucks, parks, fitness centers, and others, you’ll get to use them again. Hopefully, you will be able to use them to their fullest potential when going back.
• Taking advantage of all the tech and strong WIFI in your office.
• Getting a break from your family and kids! Need we say more?

Negatives:

• Traffic. We are not looking forward to the daily grind of having to find the best way to work or to have to leave at exactly the right time to avoid getting stuck on the interstate.
• New CDC, Health Department, and OSHA regulations aren’t going to be convenient. Let’s be honest with ourselves. The facemasks paired with this heat make the worst pair.
• You might be working in a germ bubble. Very often offices have recirculated air to help with heat and AC efficiency. Without a continuous flow of fresh air, you have no idea what you’re breathing.
• Lastly, don’t forget about all of those bullet points from the positives of working from home.

 
Which side will you be taking? We are beginning to see corporations and office parks open back up. This ultimately will be a great thing for not only our sanity but also our financial and physical health. Before we know it all food trucks will be coming back to your parks and we will be emailing you about which trucks to expect next week!