People Need People, Even While Working from Home
In 2022, we have some very unique problems facing the American workforce. Working from home was just a pipe dream for many prior to the COVID pandemic, but in today’s reality, more than two years since COVID quarnantines, working remotely is in full force. It’s a new normal that isn’t likely to see any kind of reversal any time soon.
For the most part businesses and their employees are happy with the change to remote. In fact, it saves money for everyone. Many businesses have at least downsized their physical offices to save money, and employees are glad to save on gas and to be free to move wherever they want to and still keep the same job. That means many could also save money by moving from the high priced rent of their company’s headquarters locales into smaller towns with a smaller cost of living.
However, the reality of working from home is that there are some things that we really miss about the office. Employees report missing the causal interactions with coworkers. They miss seeing coworkers in person. They miss in-person meetings and are seriously suffering from Zoom fatigue. They miss water cooler chats and they miss the office environment.
It’s no secret that people need people and human beings don’t thrive in isolation. In this time of remote work, it’s important that businesses use the available tools, such as digital office spaces, to adapt to the new normal and appeal to the basic human needs of every employee.