Yes, you will be nervous and have butterflies and a sense of trepidation but just like your first day in school, you will survive it! There will be a lot of faces you haven’t seen in maybe 6 months, 12 months, 24 months or new faces you’ve never seen in real life, except for over Zoom, but remember everyone is in the same boat.
Also, remember no hugs! Good news for those of us that hate hugs and freeze when someone comes in for that dreaded squeeze! I’ve never been so grateful for social distancing!
Reconnect and reintroduce yourself
Reconnect
Reconnect and reintroduce yourself. Some people may have been feeling a sense of loss as a person but this is a reminder that you are part of something bigger.
Bosses, managers and team leads please note that the first morning for a lot of people will involve catch-up chats and accept that productivity will be low but it won’t last forever. Let people have their chats, their coffees, and more breaks than the norm!
If you are finding yourself unsure of the protocols you have 2 choices: ask or follow other people’s lead but maybe just use your head! Take a step back if you feel too close to a person, or too many people in the kitchen, and then wait! Need the toilet? You are not 6 years of age and in senior infants…you don’t need to put your hand up and shout ‘An bhfuil cead agam dul go dti an leithreas?’.
If your day is busy, and your agenda has been set out for you by your manager, then build 5-10 minute micro-breaks into your day.
It’s lunchtime….will I stay at my desk? Hell no, get out! It’s time to decompress…walk, talk, eat (or if you are like me get into the car and make a mad dash to the shopping centre!).
But most of all don’t run out the door and change jobs if you don’t like being back in the office. Far away fields might look greener…but are you sure it’s not fake grass?!
Write down what elements you don’t like and what doesn’t suit you and discuss them with your manager. Who knows you might come up with a solution as opposed to presuming he/she doesn’t want to hear it. You are valued but you also need to speak up instead of bottling it all up and holding grudges when you haven’t even explained what is making you feel this way.
And if you are new to the company, and haven’t met any of your colleagues yet, then ask them to go for a coffee or lunch. For you, it really is like your first day at school but just like back then you will make friends!
You survived your first day at primary school, secondary school, college and how many jobs? Chin up, breathe and take those first few tentative steps to your desk. You can and you will do it! But remember there is no nap-time or naughty step in the office!
