May the 4th Be With You!

So today was the day I’ve been thinking about for the past 8 weeks of lockdown ... the day I could go back to the office!! Here in Belgium May the 4th had been announced some two weeks ago as the day when things could slowly start up again – however beyond some specifics about fabric shops (presumably for masks) and playing tennis (only outside) there was not a great deal of clarity about what to expect – so for those who will be experiencing this in the coming weeks, I just thought I’d share my thoughts about today.

Waking up this morning I thought what should I wear? Deciding not to go fully for the suit it was weird putting on a work shirt and jacket after so many weeks – thankfully lockdown had given me plenty of time to keep on top of my ironing and I realized I can multi-task by binge watching TV at the same time. I thought afterwards that physically getting ready for work was actually a positive experience – interesting how you notice the importance of such things now – a bonus was the comment about how nice I looked from my wife before I left home.

Driving (yes I’m lucky not to have to do public transport) to the office I thought I’d pass by the supermarket near my work, just to see and was surprised that at 10am the car park was already full and there was a line of people waiting to enter the store – I decided not to join them and think for now I will continue to do my grocery shopping online. Although impossible to get a delivery slot in the early weeks of lockdown, you do realise that 90% of your food shopping basket is always the same, so why not just have that delivered fortnightly?

Thankfully not everyone was ready to go to work today so there was plenty of parking and deciding not to take the hazard of the lift buttons (and thinking about who’d pressed them before me?) I used the stairs to the third floor, obviously wearing gloves as you open strange doors. Arriving in the office you see faces that for the past 2 months you’ve only seen on zoom (or other platforms) and funnily because you’ve seen into each other’s homes and lives and they have also (so far) survived this situation you feel a stronger affinity with them – it does feel good to be back (but weird).

Into my office and although everything had been cleaned thoroughly this past weekend I decided to go over everything with the disinfectant wipes – also it gave me something to do whilst the desktop took an eternity to start after 8 weeks of inactivity. Whilst outlook downloaded all the email traffic that has been managed on the mobile and tablet, you reflect on what has happened these past 2 months – work for us has continued albeit at a different pace and rhythm. Certainly any feelings that home or tele working is not possible have gone out the window, yes its different, yes you have to adapt, yes your planning is not the same as before but I’ve never felt more in control of what comes next – lockdown and the COVID crises have challenged my resilience and it is stronger as a result.

The only certainty now is uncertainty and we shouldn’t be afraid of that – collectively everyone is in the same situation and some businesses will benefit and others not. Jobs will certainly change, because we have, there will be more flexibility and increased use of digital tools – we may decide to buy fewer goods (do I really need so many work shirts and suits?) or have fewer travels but we may compensate for all that by thinking more about our role in and contribution to society or being more creative or just enjoying ourselves more, being surrounded by the people we love.

I for one have enjoyed having breakfast, lunch and dinner with my family – I’ve enjoyed having virtual quizzes and cocktails with family and friends – I’ve enjoyed the entitlement of daily exercise – and today I enjoyed the opportunity to go back to the office. Tomorrow is still a mystery, so for now I’ll enjoy today and so may the 4th be with you...and the 5th, 6th, 7th etc.. keep safe.