Why Does Getting Back to Normal Feel So Abnormal?
My last day of working in an in-person office setting was March 17th, 2020. Since then, I have perfected my work-from-home routine. My corner is set up with perfect lighting and a comfortable chair. My Nespresso machine is on a daily timer so I have delicious coffee right before my morning meetings. I’ve gotten so used to my WFH (work-from-home) routine that I forgot in-person meetings existed until I was asked to join a business trip to conduct in-person training.
Two months ago, I had the opportunity to go to an in-person meeting with a client in Austin, Texas. This was my first business trip with SWIM and my first time in Austin. Having never been to Texas besides the Dallas airport, I was PUMPED. I grew up in a big city, but have spent the past year and a half in the small town of Des Moines, Iowa. The excitement of experiencing a new city almost overshadowed the nervousness I had about the trip. It has been nearly 2 years since I last worked in person. All of my meetings with clients were through a video conferencing platform. Besides my orientation with SWIM, I couldn’t tell you the last time I actually sat in a conference room.
“All of my meetings with clients were through a video conferencing platform. Besides my orientation with SWIM, I couldn’t tell you the last time I actually sat in a conference room.”
Panic started to set in the night before the trip. Were my clothes professional enough? Did I pack enough masks? Were people going to be shocked by my physical appearance versus what they saw on Zoom every week? After the meetings I couldn’t just turn off my camera and make everyone disappear, they were still going to be right in front of me.
This panic lasted all the way up until my first meeting in Austin. I tried to put all my effort into paying attention to the topics of discussion, but my mind couldn’t help, but wonder. Was I being too awkward? Not saying enough or saying too much? Before each meeting, I held my breath as everyone filed in. I don’t remember feeling this awkward in meetings PC (pre-COVID).
After the initial discomfort, I felt during the first meeting, some of the nerves went away. I reminded myself that I had talked to all of these people before, just through a computer screen. I wasn’t the only one who was used to a Zoom meeting being my main form of communication with my colleagues. It actually felt great to meet up with the clients in-person with whom I had spent so much time virtually.
No, I am not pushing for the return to the office, I really do think there are great benefits to working from home or remotely, but I do believe there is value in the occasional in-person meeting. Especially if I get to explore a new city other than my own. For now, I will continue to work in my comfy chair near the big window in my apartment and take Zoom meetings with my cat on my lap.
Author: Joi Latson
At See What I Mean, we make a practice of empathizing with the people who attend our gatherings. As our organizations transition from Zoom to IRL (in real life) to hybrid and back again, we encourage you to think about everything that may be on the mind of your guests.
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