Going back to in person work? Implement these ideas to maintain a healthy work culture

As vaccination rates rise and people begin to transition into their “new normal,” many are heading back into the workplace. Though the number of people returning to the office is on the rise, the stress, anxiety and uncertainty associated with their return can be quite overwhelming on many levels. That is why, either as a leader or an employee, finding ways to ensure that the process of returning to the office is as seamless and productive as possible is an absolute must.

Nora Tobin, performance enhancement and executive coach, nutrition specialist and CEO of Nora’s Naturals coffee, shares her experience on how she’s been able to maintain a healthy organizational culture, while also maximizing efficiency with the return to the office.

Here are Nora’s top 5 ideas to help make the transition back to the office a better experience for everyone:

Idea #1: Mindful Mondays
One simple way to ease stress while bringing teams together is by creating a joint experience that can be enjoyed in person or streamed live through your company’s virtual platform. Take this time to guide your team through a variety of different breathing exercises to ease anxiety in the midst of uncertainty. A common and easy one to do is the 4-7-8 breathing exercise – see below:

• While counting to 4 in your head, take a deep and slow breath
• Hold your breath while counting from 1 to 7
• Exhale while counting from 1 to 8, being sure that all the air is out at the end

Idea #2: Coffee & Conversation 
Since being out of the office, we lose our ability to have random encounters throughout the day. There is no more stepping away from the desk for a coffee to chat with a colleague, resulting in less forms of creative conversations.

One way to inspire this type of causal connection is through a “Coffee & Conversation” series.

This also can be in person or virtual at their desks and takes place once a month. The goal is to create an environment where coworkers can network and also have one-on-one experiences. Encouraging them to bring their favorite snacks or providing a small care package of goodies to enjoy can help break the ice as well.

Idea #3: Happiest Hour 
Since there has not been the same opportunities to be in person through happy hours and hosting social experiences, teams have to find new ways to keep consistent engagement with their clients. One way to create a shared enjoyable and beneficial experience is through team building activities. For example, if you own a restaurant, you could have the employees create their own menu item that they then have to pitch as if they were on a reality TV show. They can laugh and joke at the crazy ideas they come up with, but they also become more familiar with each other as they communicate cross-culturally and explore different cooking styles that they might not have been exposed to before.

Idea #4: 3-Minute Movement 
Whether working from home or back in the office, every employee can feel the negative effects of sitting. Our static day working from screens can not only block energy channels in the body up to the brain, but can also cause dysregulation in our fear response. The light from screens combined with hours of sitting can lower the function of the hypothalamus (part of the brain responsible for attention), and cause the amygdala to overreact (fear response in the brain). This can lead to more anxiety, less energy and the consistent state of burnout.

One simple way to start reducing the risk of the static setting is by incorporating 3-minutes of movement throughout the day. This can be done through the application that you use to communicate with your team, like Slack for example. A quick reminder to take a lap around the office, do some squats at the desk or any kind of movement that the person feels comfortable doing. The point is to get moving!

Idea #5: Monthly Content Resource 
There are many great resources out there for wellbeing, but it can be an overwhelming fear to even have to Google one more item after a long work day. One strategy employers can implement is having a monthly resource sent out to all teams in the network. The content should highlight one theme per month around wellbeing and bring it to life through immersive video, educational research, recipes and workouts. This way, employees don’t have to go out of their way and search, it’s already there for them to take advantage of.