As offices increasingly start to bring employees back on-site, our AskABoss columnist responds to questions about how exactly it's all going to work
Photo: Getty Images As a work-advice columnist, I’ve been able to track the evolution of the pandemic through my email: In the spring of last year, I was flooded with questions about companies that weren’t keeping people safe, the adjustment to working from home, and dealing with furloughs. Then it was co-workers who wouldn’t wear masks or keep their distance, along with frustrations over endless Zoom meetings and how to work with young kids around.
Point out that your productivity and work quality has gone up since you’ve been at home. If you have hard numbers, use them, and remind your boss that she commented on the gains herself. Say it’s been a huge boon to your quality of life as well as your work, and ask if she’d be open to you continuing it. If she’s hesitant to give you a concrete yes, ask if she’d be willing to let you keep doing it for, say, four to six months and then revisiting it again at that point.
I would love to tell you to shed your bras forever! And you can if you want to. You’d just want to be aware that in a lot of offices it may be A Thing that gets you marked as less unprofessional, less polished, or just “the one who doesn’t wear a bra.” You’ve got to decide if you’re willing to live with that. You might be! If you are, I salute you. Just know that’s the trade-off.
It’s understandable if you want those relationships to be different now. You do need to be civil to people you work with — you can’t freeze them out or be rude — but you don’t need to resume warm, social relationships with people who have acted in ways you find ethically repugnant.
That doesn’t mean, though, that you need to thank people who comment on your appearance. You can say something utterly neutral like, “It’s been a while since we’ve been in person,” or “It’s good to finally see you again,” or anything else that doesn’t engage with the weight stuff. And then if someone persists after that, it’s reasonable to say, “Oh, I’d rather not discuss it at work!”
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
'Five-day office week will become the norm again'Traditional working patterns could return within two years, a think tank tells the BBC.
Read more »
What Working From Home Taught Us About Our Office SetupsAs more employees prepare to return to commuting, they can apply more than a year’s worth of wisdom for what did and didn’t work in their Zoom rooms.
Read more »
Will workers return to the office?A poll found that 87% of Americans who worked remotely during the pandemic want to continue doing so at least one day a week
Read more »
‘Conjuring 3’ outperforms ‘A Quiet Place 2’ at weekend Box Office'The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It' overtakes ‘A Quiet Place 2’ with a $24 million projected domestic weekend box office revenue as moviegoing returns 😱🎥
Read more »
Returning to the office isn't for everyone — but for some, it could be the cure for burnoutBusiness Insider tells the global tech, finance, markets, media, healthcare, and strategy stories you want to know.
Read more »