Should you go into work or not?

With COVID-19 updates dominating world-headlines and what were previously known as ‘water cooler’ conversations, it’s only natural you’re wondering whether it’s time to quarantine yourself. 

On the surface, the question seems binary: stay home or go to the office? Pick one or the other. Simple. But, of course, it’s not. 

Once you scratch the surface of this question you discover a shamble of inputs. There are concerns for personal health and safety, wider community wellbeing, job security, economic implications, leadership responsibilities, schooling logistics and so on. 

You can get bogged down in an analysis of all these factors, and end up no closer to a decision you feel comfortable with — or you can take the following steps to arrive at your best decision for this moment. 

Step 1 - Know what matters most to you

When you identify your core values, you have a strong foundation from which to make confident decisions.  

Most of us overlook this step and jump straight into strategising. We wonder: Should I go to work or stay home? Mandate my employees to work remotely or let them choose? Meet clients face-to-face or digitally?

Phrasing decisions in this binary manner diminishes your brain to its teenage state. Should I wear the red T-shirt or the blue? Should I date so-and-so or not? You close down your options. You react quickly and irrationally.

As an adult, however, you have the capacity to think more broadly than this — to move into more creative thinking patterns that open the door to infinite opportunities. (There’s actually a great book on this called Thinking Fast and Slow by Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman, so if you’re interested to learn more about smart decision-making, I’d definitely check this out.)

To allow creative thinking patterns to emerge, you must feel safe, calm and clear-headed. One of the most effective ways to do this is to identify your core values — that is, the key principles that drive your behaviour. 

Here are some questions you can ask yourself to identify your values and encourage a clear, calm and confident decision-making state. 

What are the polarities of your decision? 

Why does it matter that you get this ‘right’?

The way you answer these questions will be completely unique compared to the next person, but let’s take an example to illustrate where they will lead you.   

On the one hand, you may still want to go to work because this familiar routine offers you a semblance of normality, a regular paycheck and a chance to laugh and collaborate with your colleagues. On the other hand, you may worry that, if you keep going into the office, you’ll put your own and others’ health at risk. 

Both polarities represent important values, ranging from a desire for stability and financial security to human connection, integrity, care and even logic and competence. The list of possible values you are trying to serve is endless and highly personal. That’s why it’s important that you discover what matters most to you, because this lays a foundation for you to engage in creative and rational conversations with others to arrive at mutually beneficial decisions.

Once you know your values, it’s time to research how you can accommodate them. As you move from introspection to collecting external evidence, you’ll need to understand how to differentiate between low and high-quality information. 

Step 2 - Consume high-quality information only

Anecdotes, which we consume hungrily from social media and social circles, are not conducive to making robust decisions. In fact, relying on human opinion is likely to lead you astray, whether by inducing anxiety or complacency. This can have dire consequences for you as an individual since anxiety reduces your ability to think clearly and can also compromise your immune system; while complacency poses risks for broader society. 

While knowledge is power, this is only true when it comes from high-quality sources. So, how can you ensure you have access to the best quality information? 

First, distance yourself from social media and other second-hand sources, which tend to take extreme and highly emotional views. Information is more reliable when it comes from dedicated organisations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), or country-specific government agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or Australian Government Department of Health. 

If you do research more broadly, ensure the information you consume is evidence-based. I’m not a journalist but I hear The New York Times and The Guardian are presenting factual reports. Also, here is an excellent, evidence-based report from Medium (despite its alarmist heading!), Coronavirus: Why You Must Act Now, and a scientific perspective from New Scientist, Coronavirus.

Finally, as you start to form your own well-informed views, remember to stay open-minded, flexible and curious to new information. 

Step 3 - Stay curious

When you adopt an attitude of curiosity — rather than a rigid adherence to one school of thought — you can respond more effectively to changes in your internal and external environment. 

Curiosity invites you to seek out a wide range of perspectives to increase your chances of making robust decisions. It encourages you to listen to your feelings, which are your body’s way of communicating to you that you’ve made a decision that is aligned with (or misaligned with) your values. And curiosity gives you permission not to know it all: you can ask an expert for advice, get a fresh perspective from someone impartial, and feel comfortable making and learning from your mistakes. 

With a curious mind, you can design your own unique response to the question "Should I go into work or stay home?" that accommodates all your most important values and the facts of the day.

Full Disclosure: I have already transitioned all my clients to digital sessions and, as of today, have taken both my children out of school. It is 'inconvenient' juggling work and being fully present with them during play times — but this is the decision that feels right for me in this moment. What decision feels right for you?

If you need any extra support, while you grapple with the uncertainty that COVID-19 has brought to careers and business plans — and life, in general — please feel free to contact me at [email protected]