Top 5 positives about getting back to the office

Many Londoners will return to the office soon (hurrah!) I have worked in the West End  “From 9 to 5” (like Dolly Parton) 5 days of week for 30 years and I am excited! Not to go back to the office (silly), but my new flexible home/office hybrid working lifestyle.

Looking forward to working in the office again

Here are my top 5 positives about getting back to work in town for say 2- 3 days a week:

1. The journey in. It will be wonderful to close the front door, get on my bike and go into town. The ride to work does wonders for my mental health. I pass weird & wonderful houses on The Bishops Avenue, ride past Hampstead and into the West End through the park. Every season feels different in Regents Park. After a couple of laps, taking in the sights, sounds and smells, I feel ready for my first cup of coffee in the office.
2. It is more fun to deal with people in person. Specifically, it will be great to get back to a social environment where we can effortlessly gossip and share market information. It can also be much easier to negotiate a deal when you are communicating face to face. An email can be ignored, a zoom call can be terminated (“sorry you’ve gone mute”), but when you are sitting opposite your counter party, there is nowhere to hide and solutions often swiftly arise. So work can be much more productive.

It’s critical for office agents to physically inspect office buildings. Sometimes it takes a site visit to see there are no windows or what looked like a lovely self-contained building has a dodgy poll dancing club in the basement!

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1. As an office agent, it is critical to physically inspect office buildings on site. You can absorb information about offices from brochures, videos and virtual tours. However letting agents naturally tend to be selective with what they show you. Their brochure may show aspirational looking office space with wooden floors, high ceilings and exposed surfaces. However sometimes it takes an actual site visit to see there are no windows, or what looked like a lovely self-contained building actually has a dodgy poll dancing club in the basement (which may also be worth a quick shufty…)
2. Taking advantage of all the leisure, eating and shopping facilities in the centre of London. The suburbs are fine, but they tend to be pretty bland. When the buzz returns to Central London, it will be great to be able to meet people from every part of London and to be able to share cuisine from all over the globe. Personally, I am pretty limited when it comes to internet shopping, so I will be relieved to be able to pop into John Lewis or M&S one lunchtime to buy 20 pairs beautiful new socks (without holes!).
3. The journey home. Mirror reflection of #1 above. Travelling  home from work can be cathartic. You can leave some of your challenges and uncertainties in the office and not have to think about them until you return. Home therefore can become a little more serene.

In my next post I’ll write about the positives about working at home. Tatty bye for now!