To many people, the return to office may be a relief. After 20+ months of pure chaos, having a semblance of “normal” life is appealing. A regular commute, a place to be and work from 9-5, all the usual small talk and business as usual.

But for so many others, going to an office doesn’t feel like just going back.

It may mean:

• Having to scramble and change childcare options, which is already limited and unaffordable for so many families. And if the RTO date suddenly changed from sometime in January to December 1, that’s even less time to find childcare.
  
  •A spectrum of anxiety. Some people might be ready, but other people haven’t eaten at a restaurant in 20 months because it terrifies them. So being comfortable sitting inside for 8 hours or even in a conference room with other people for 15 minutes isn’t just a flip of a switch. Some people are legitimately scared for their lives
  
  •Reassessing how things get done. People got used to remote work and being productive on their own time. Maybe that meant early in the morning, or into the evening. Maybe it meant during meetings. But going into an office, adding commute times takes away from a lot of the day that some people were used to actually working.

There’s a lot of reasons that going into an office is great. But it’s not immediately great for everyone. Consider the diversity of experiences among your company or even team.

Not everyone is excited, ready, or even comfortable– masks on, sanitized hands or not. So as your work situation changes and your office mandates in-person work, consider the rest of your team. Ask how you can be supportive and have some empathy during this transition.

And if you need some extra help, we’d love to share how we’ve worked with teams during times of transition to help with better communication, more effective collaboration, and focus that they’ve never had before.

Caveday is on a mission to help you improve your relationship to work. We write regularly and send out monthly newsletters with productivity tips, life hacks, and recommendations. Sign up for the mailing list here.

Jake Kahana is a cofounder of Caveday. Sign up for his personal emails, called “The Email Refrigerator” here.