Have people forgotten how to behave in the office?

The shift from full-time remote working to a hybrid format is a required adjustment in the new way of knowledge-working – and for many, it’s been a clunky process. Many workers are finding it difficult to shake off the work-from-home habits they’ve developed that no longer belong in the office – things like taking client meetings in loungewear, stealing cheeky mid-afternoon naps or even pacing around the room to think through an idea.

On the upside, some of these habits will dissipate over time, because the office will force workers back into appropriate behaviour.

Workers used to go to offices to do all their work, both their heads-down solo tasks as well as their group work. But now, in-office days in a hybrid environment often have a new, highly specific purpose, which is to foster socialisation and collaboration. 

Some workers are finding their colleagues have lost the etiquette – and even decorum ­– required in an office setting. With a focus on socialisation, many colleagues are boisterous in ways they haven’t been in the past, leaving workers who still have to get individualised work done in inhospitable situations annoyed.

There's this need to connect on such a large level after being isolated for two or three years, so the office, for those who are going back to work, is really kind of seen as this place to finally connect and share ideas.

The workers who are bothered by disruptions may also be more sensitive now than they were prior to office closures. They have adjusted so thoroughly to their remote environments, curated exactly how they want them, that even a baseline ‘normal’ amount of disruption may be too much.

However, as going to the office becomes the norm, workers will adjust, as they always do.