As almost 50 millions out of the 66 millions French have received 1 Covid vaccin dose or more, the country is opening back. In other words, we are entering the “new normal” phase.

At my work, since this summer, we come back to work, on the volunteer basis, once or twice per week. Personally, every Monday for me, but since it was summer with summer holiday, I had some Monday off.

Yesterday, a Wednesday exceptionally, I went back to the office to celebrate a colleague’s departure.

Since March 2020, which means, for the last 1 year and a half, I haven’t seen that many colleagues at once physically at the office !

It was something. It hits me hard.

Moreover, starting from October, I will have to go to the office half of the time : a week two times, then a week three times.

So, I’m wondering how this will change my daily life, and what I should do to prepare at most to this “new normal”.

Work from home is cool

There are many reasons why I appreciate WFH mode.

First, not having to spend 2 hours per day on transport is such a great thing. In addition, there is no rush in the morning to prepare yourself, no need to wonder what to wear every morning, no need to iron your clothes, etc. In brief, I save like 2 hours and a half per day, and even more !

2.5 hours, it’s a lot! That means 12.5 hours per week, the equivalent of 1.5 or even 1.8 workdays (in Vietnam and the US, the workday basis is 8 hours/day, but in France, an official workday has 7 working hours)!

Can you imagine that ? That means, when they tell you to work 5 days a week, you actually work 5 days, plus 1 days and a half to prepare yourself to work! Which means 30-36% of the working time is just to get you ready to work! What a wast of time and physical effort!

Imagine if you can work and get paid for this 1 day and a half ? And get 30-36% of income in surplus?

Well, in reality, it’s rare to find a paid job that you can combine with your full-time job to get the 30-36% surplus of money. But instead of tiring yourself on dirty transport, you can do many other things : do your laundry, read books, play sports, learn a new language, etc. Or, simply, get more sleep !

Moreover, working from home gives you the flexibility to organize your life. Instead of taking your morning or afternoon off, you can WFH, to receive a delivery, to go to the post office, etc. Such a great way to optimize your life!

Work from home – such a great time and energy saver !

Third, WFH allows me to spend more time with my family – my husband. Yet I appreciate my coworkers much, and I think they are very nice, I still think that in the classic workplace, we spend not enough time with people who truly matter to us.

In other words, I think it’s silly to spend more time with our colleagues than with our family.

Furthermore, even if our colleagues are the most adorable and interesting people in the world, we will run out of topics if we meet them everyday.

No wonder why, Covid-19 and WFH have upset each one’s life organisation and challenged our perception about work-life balance.

Work at the office has its word

Although I’m reluctant to the idea of coming back to the office, I think that it has its advantages.

To go physically to the office, to discuss with them, to participate in corporate events, etc. are important. It maintains the connexion of each employee to the corporate, its vision and mission. It puts you in the physical condition to work, to be patient, listen and learn from the others.

Moreover, I think that somehow, staying at home most of the time all those 18 months has weaken my social networks. It’s time for me to reboot my social habit and strengthen my communication skills.

Anyway, sooner or later, we will have to go back to the office. Lockdown is not sustainable, economical and socially speaking.

Finally, the mixte between going to the office and work from home is a great compromise. It’s probably the optimal choice that might bring the best of both worlds.

So I sat down, wrote down in the paper what I would have to do to prepare myself best for the new chapter. Starting from preparing my shoes, clothes for work. Then to contact my old friends, colleagues that I’ve met since last year.

Well, what about you? Are you ready for the “new normal”? Will your life and routine be the same as before?