If you have worked in an office during any part of your career, there are some things that are just comfortingly familiar, regardless of who you work for.\u00a0 Having someone else make you a brew as part of a round.\u00a0 Catching up with a colleague hogging the photocopier to pass the time until your printing is done.\u00a0 Shaking hands with your visitors as you welcome them to your site.<\/p>\n
But what happens when these corporate comforts are no longer appropriate?\u00a0 Alongside vaccination, social distancing and enhanced hygiene measures are still the first line of defence against viral bugs and germs, especially as we go into the winter.\u00a0 How do we navigate our own personal views and expectations around socialising and old routines with those people we work with to ensure we can all cohabit in the workplace without conflict or misunderstandings?<\/p>\n
Firstly, it\u2019s important to recognise that not everyone will feel the same as you.\u00a0 But everyone is on the same journey, figuring out what this \u2018new normal\u2019 looks like, and as a result, it might be a bit of a bumpy road.<\/p>\n
Take workplace attire as an example.\u00a0 For many, the \u2018work wardrobe\u2019 is a thing.\u00a0 And it\u2019s probably best defined as business casual, involving smart clothes, smart shoes, a smart coat and a host of smart accessories.\u00a0 But in lockdown, we didn\u2019t need to look smart.\u00a0 In fact, we could get away with participating in video calls in whatever was comfortable.\u00a0 We\u2019ve proven that there isn\u2019t really a link between attire and productivity\u2026 but does that make it ok?<\/p>\n
For an overwhelming majority, there\u2019s a positive psychological connection between getting dressed for work and the mindset it puts you in and equally, the ability to detach from work when you\u2019re back at home and changing out of your workwear.\u00a0 For many, there\u2019s also an inherent professionalism around work attire; it sets the right tone and is a tangible commitment to being present in the workplace.<\/p>\n
But that might not be how everyone sees it and at a corporate level, there may be an acceptance that professional business attire does not equate to business productivity.\u00a0 The key here is to find what works for you and be comfortable with it.\u00a0 Own those killer heels, work your jeans and boots combo, embrace the confidence your suit brings you.\u00a0 Make it your<\/strong> normal, regardless of what the rest of the workforce might be doing.<\/p>\n As for workplace habits like chatting in close proximity or navigating the complexities of making ten hot drinks all the right cups, honesty and preparation are going to be your best friends here.\u00a0 Think about the situations in the office that might make you uncomfortable or anxious and plan for them.\u00a0 Let your colleagues know, politely, that you\u2019re going to stick to making your own drinks for now and that you hope they understand.\u00a0 Look into whether your employer is offering an awareness mechanism, such as wrist bands or lanyards, that show how comfortable you are with socialising.\u00a0 Be prepared to offer an honest view as to how you feel about something; if your opinion doesn\u2019t matter, you wouldn\u2019t be being asked.<\/p>\n As a leader, this unknown territory can present its own set of challenges.\u00a0 Differences in attitudes, a change in behaviours and varying levels of acceptance of other people\u2019s views can all be divisive, especially when people remember \u2018how it was\u2019 through rose-tinted glasses.<\/p>\n Creating a safe and respectful environment for your teams is critically important, as is reenforcing the right to have a view that may not be shared by all.\u00a0 By creating opportunities for this to be explored by your teams and to collaboratively and creatively look at what may need to change to ensure no single individual feels excluded or marginalised, you will go a long way to restoring what is likely to be a much-needed sense of cohesion within your span of control.<\/p>\n Cube Learning & Development delivers bespoke personal coaching programmes to help you take control of your own mindset. For a no-obligation chat about this and our other training, call Chris Burton on 07879 602002.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Photo credit: Drew Beamer<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you have worked in an office during any part of your career, there are some things that are just comfortingly familiar, regardless of who you work for.\u00a0 Having someone else make you a brew as part of a round.\u00a0 Catching up with a colleague hogging the photocopier to pass the time until your printing is done.\u00a0 Shaking hands with your visitors as you welcome them to your site. But what happens when these corporate comforts are no longer appropriate?\u00a0 Alongside vaccination, social distancing and enhanced hygiene measures are still [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":398,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,34],"tags":[36,37,40,38,39],"class_list":["post-397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-organisational-development","category-workplace-culture","tag-cutlure","tag-habits","tag-new-normal","tag-workplace-culture","tag-workplace-habits"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=397"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":399,"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397\/revisions\/399"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}