With many people now working from home for over a year, there has been a great shift in how people think about work and it seems that there are many aspects of office life that people have been missing. While WFH certainly has some perks, it seems that many people are missing the social aspect of work and this could even be impacting their overall happiness and wellbeing. So as some people are returning to work slowly, bosses are trying to think of ways they can make it better for employees, this includes adding more to their tea and coffee selection, with them looking to check out wholesale coffee suppliers as well as tea delivery, for example, so that there can be a social distanced coffee break with whoever is in the office.

Missing the Office Life

Business card printing specialists instantprint recently carried out a survey of 1,000 UK workers asking them about their feelings about what people have been missing about working in an office. It is clear that it is seeing their colleagues and interacting with them each day with small talk leading the way (33%), followed by the social side of work-life (31%), general gossip (31%), taking a proper lunch break (26%) and the tea/coffee round (24%).

Isolation an Issue with WFH

These are elements of work that you simply do not get while working remotely as video calls are just not the same as speaking to someone face-to-face and catching up in the office. While there are many things that people do not miss about office life, socialization is incredibly important for people’s overall wellbeing and the overall office atmosphere and the feeling of being part of a team is something special that can make working in an office much more enjoyable.

The Importance of Social Interaction

The dramatic shift to working from home has had a huge impact on people’s social lives as the people that you work with are the ones that you ordinarily spend so much time with each week. Social interaction is important for people’s mental health, happiness and overall wellbeing, so when a large percentage of this is taken away it is understandable that people will begin to suffer and notice dips in their mental health.

Returning to the Office

Looking forward, people will begin to return to the office soon as this could be quite a shock to the system. While things like an early start, dressing smartly for work and commuting might not be things that people are looking forward to, the idea of catching up with co-workers, sharing a joke and the general office atmosphere will be something that many are looking forward to.

While many people have enjoyed working from home over the last year or so, it seems that many have also missed the social side of work and this could be having a huge impact on their wellbeing. These people will be looking forward to returning to the office even on a part-time basis and enjoying spending time with their coworkers.