Recently, I was talking to a group of American fundraisers. They were all working from home but most were expecting to be back in the office within a month. In the conversation, many were regretting that they had not thought about returning to the office sooner and made plans. Here is some of what they shared.

Create your new reality

Most of us have been working from home for over a year. If you have been successful working from home and you like it, think about what you want. Would you like to work from home five days a week? Would you like a hybrid where you work from home two or three days a week and go to the office the other days? For example, you may decide that on days when you have donor meetings, it makes more sense to work from home rather than add a commute to the office in addition to the meetings.

Another approach may be a compressed work week where you work 10 hours for four days (generally Monday through Thursday, then you take Friday off). This can allow you to remain full time but buy you some flexibility for your work and home life.

The moment is now to think about what you want and then build that for yourself with your boss. Like any good idea, build your case for your situation. Note your ability to be productive, which will raise more money for the charity.  Quantify the reduction in productivity from going back to conventional office working - all that commuting to the office is not productive time.

The reverse is also true. If you are a person who thrives in an office setting, this is the time to let your boss know that you want to return to working in the office five days a week. As above, make your case for how you will be more productive in the office setting. You don't want to find out that your boss decided to cut down on working spaces in the office, assuming you were happier at home.

Avoid re-entry shock

If you are going back to working in the office at least part-time, this is a good moment to start to prepare. Many of my American colleagues were going into the office every 5-10 days. If you have ever been on parental or other type of leave, you know that it is good to ease back into the office.

Remember that if you haven't been in the office in a while, you won't be conventionally productive on day one. Your office computer will need to update, you are going to want to at least wave hello to your colleagues from a distance. You may find you have a stack of paper mail or voicemails to deal with. 

Try a plan that has you returning gradually, going from full-time home to a day a week in the office, until you reach your set-point of days in the office per week.

What changes do you want to keep?

With the move to home, there may have been changes you made you want to keep. For example, did you take a walk every day over lunch? Do you prepare your own lunch instead of buying it? Do you take a five-minute break every hour to stretch? Think about what patterns you want to bring into the office with you and develop a plan for how you will attain that. For instance, will you keep a pair of walking shoes in your desk drawer?

Start bringing new patterns into the office as you return so that you can make them part of your new work reality.

Conversely, if you have things you want to stop, this is the chance for a fresh start. Maybe you want to snack less as you work? Think about how you make sure that happens in your work office.

The next year promises to bring as much change as the last one. If you can, make the change work to your advantage. 

Ann Rosenfield counsels business leaders, colleagues and charity Board members on dealing with sticky or complex charity questions.  Contact her, ann@charitablyspeaking.com

Cover photo via picnoi