Introverts – Are You Ready to Return to Work?

We have been waiting for well over a year to get back to “normal”. For many of us this means returning to work.

Depending on where you live and the type of work you do this may be causing some anxiety. In Canada a KPMG poll revealed that 54% of Canadians feel anxious about returning to work. Of course, if you were fortunate enough to have a job that was deemed essential or a company that let you work from home you would have continued working all along.

Jill is the COO of an engineering firm. She worked from home while restrictions were in place but moved back to her office as soon as it was feasible. My nephew Bill is an electrician and his brother Steve is a plumber so they continued to work on construction projects throughout the entire pandemic. People employed in retail and the hospitality industries had fewer options during the lockdown.

But introverts who stopped working or worked from home may be feeling anxious about returning to work. The best remedy is to take charge and create an action plan based on your needs.

Have a Re-entry Plan

Taking charge will mean deciding what works for you and then being ready and willing to negotiate with your employer.

Canada Life recently posted:

“Studies have shown fear of the unknown can significantly compound anxiety. Being worried about the uncertain, known as anticipatory anxiety, can leave you feeling overwhelmed and powerless.”

To remove some of this uncertainty, speak to your boss about what a return to work will look like.

Canada Life recommends that you find answers to the following questions:

• Will all employees be returning or will we be taking a phased approach?
• How many employees will be returning at once?
• Have any physical changes been made to the working environment?
• How will measures such as face covering and social distancing be enforced? Are any other workplace safety measures in place?
• Will you be providing any PPE equipment, such as masks?

Do Your Homework

 All over the world we are seeing examples of how employers are taking the needs of their employees into consideration. Your place of work should have a formal return to work plan based on government health guidelines.

Do a “dry run”. Go back to your place of work and look around. Talk to people who are already working. Ask them what their experience has been like.

If you are looking for ideas to take to your boss do some research on-line. Many organizations are encouraging employees to continue working from home at least in the short term. And there are numerous examples of how companies are adapting in order to get their employees safely back to work. The Bank of England is asking staff to return to the office in September starting with a minimum of once a week. A form of graduated return to work.

You may be able to arrange a graduated return to work or negotiate fewer hours for the first few weeks

And Now for the Good News!

Peter Cheese, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) said recently in a BBC interview: “Freedom Day‘ shouldn’t signal a mass return to workplaces, but it could signal the start of greater freedom and flexibility in how, when and where people work.”