Back in the saddle

On Tuesday, June 1, 2021 - for the first time in 442 days – the entire Resch Strategies team was back together under one roof.  It wasn’t a planned thing.  No one said, “Ok, it’s June 1.  Let’s all go back today.” (I guess that would have been my job to do.)  It was a podcast day, which does seem to bring folks in, but no.  No plan.  No official return.  No government edict.  Just a happy little coincidence.

And you know what else it was?  Quiet.  Completely quiet, at least to start. 

Everyone was here.  Everyone was working.  And no one was talking.

At one point early on, I got up to walk down to Stephanie’s office only to find that there were two people in the office that I didn’t even know were in the building.

At another point, Nikki just said to whoever could hear (which was everyone), “It’s so quiet.  It’s louder than this in my house, and I’m all alone.”

442 days is a really long time to not do something you’ve been used to doing almost every single day for a very long time.

Like many businesses, we’ve already decided that working from home is not going away.  Most of us really like it!  It can be relaxing, and some on our team found themselves more productive in the home office as opposed to the work office.  What started as a government requirement at a dire time has removed its mask to reveal a new workplace benefit.

But back to the silence.  It’s weird to say, but it’s gonna take a little getting used to, this working together in the office thing. 

Habits are powerful things.  Sometimes they can be very healthy and good (like exercise and vegetables), and sometimes they can be debilitating and devastating (like smoking or The Bachelor).  For many of us, we’ve developed a habit of being apart.  Not a part of something like a team or a group, but apart from friends, colleagues, and camaraderie.  There’s no light switch to flip when it comes getting used to working with people in an office again.  It’s more of a dimmer switch.  It could take some time.

And time is fine.  In just the four or so hours it has taken me to type these few hundred words (two meetings and one podcast interview in that time too, so don’t judge) the place has livened up a bit.  A couple work conversations.  A couple weekend tales.  Stephanie’s late mother’s horse painting making the rounds on group text.

442 days is a really long time, but we’re back in the saddle.