Four reasons to work in the office
I recently wrote a blog post listing four reasons to work from home, and while I love working from home, I do miss out on some things when I’m away from the office. Here are four reasons to spend time in the office:
Stay “in the loop”
When you’re not physically in the office, you miss out on important news, ideas, gossip (and sometimes home-baked treats). If you’re away for too long, or too often, you can start to feel disconnected from your team.
Improve your people skills
Getting along well with others is a valuable life skill. And the best way to improve your people skills is to spend time with people. Working in the office provides many one-on-one interaction opportunities such as navigating complex office politics, mentoring a co-worker, or even just chatting with clients and suppliers who may be passing through your space… This investment in honing your people skills will increase your value as a person, at work and in your personal life.
Contribute to the team
All the little interruptions throughout your day can be viewed as an annoyance, or as an opportunity to be a valuable member of your team. Remember that people come to you for your help because they value your contribution. Enjoy feeling needed. And remember that when you help others, they’re usually happy to return the favour should you ever need it.
Get help problem-solving
We all occasionally get stuck on a problem and need another person (or group of people) to bounce ideas off and come up with solutions to explore. Working in an office environment gives you access to people who can help you get un-stuck. Sometimes all it takes is popping your head into someone else’s office for a quick chat.
If I need to focus on a big project, without distraction, I prefer to work from home. But if I want to collaborate and feel part of a team, you’ll find me in my office. In the end, I choose the team more often than home…
