I’m looking forward to seeing colleagues, but commuting, not so much

When the news broke that masks would no longer be required in the office, friends reacted with a mixture of dread and cautious optimism to the idea of returning to the workplace. No-one was elated after two years in captivity.

“There are people at work that I wouldn’t save from a burning car,” a friend lamented. This probably said more about his job than going back to the office. He said it would be fine if promises of flexibility were upheld. And besides, another strain might cut it short.

Another said it would be nice seeing people and not housework that had to be done. Her company had hired a barista four days a week to lure people back. As a coffee addict, that’s tempting. But not enough for me.

The problem was lack of time. The commute on the number 67 tram from St Kilda to the CBD and back again added 1.5 hours to the day. And inevitably there’d be someone with hay fever and no tissue. Grooming added 40 minutes to the morning routine and has now been replaced with anything that doesn’t need ironing.

Two years ago, my sons were 12 and 14 and I was dashing between work and getting them to basketball, soccer and parties. By Tuesday, the pantry was empty and the house looked as if it had been ransacked. The clothing pile was Himalayan. I was so stretched that I’d collapse brain fried at the end of the day with wine and chocolate.

Working from home has meant the food supplies can be topped up and a load of washing put on in between zoom meetings. I have time to exercise to cancel out the wine and chocolate and I’m less annoyed by humanity thanks to the lack of commute. I’m not frittering money on lunches nor picking up other people’s bugs while hotdesking. I can roll out of bed and be at my desk in under a minute. And I did regular walks with my sons instead of parenting via neglect.

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But there are downsides. The boundary between work and home has blurred and the lack of collaboration has taken a toll. Coffees with colleagues disappeared along with the chemistry I had with them.

I must admit office life before lockdown was fun. My workmates and I would contemplate the universe and wonder why people used phrases in meetings such as “move the needle”, “deep dive” and the dreaded “reach out”. We had a sense of community that has now fizzled. The trick will be recapturing this against a more flexible backdrop and re-learning the art of applying make-up so I don’t look like a ventriloquist’s dummy.