From article: Back To Office Anxiety? How To Keep Your Fears In Check published by Forbes

Return-to-office anxiety. It's a thing.

As vaccine rates pick up speed across the United States, the light at the end of this long dark pandemic tunnel grows brighter.  Yet while many welcome the idea of spending less time on Zoom by Fall (myself among them), a recent study of US employees found that two-thirds are feeling anxious about returning to the physical workplace and fearful for the health and wellbeing.

Fear is a potent emotion; one that's been in hyper drive since the Covid-19 pandemic shut down offices one year ago (though time has moved in another dimension ever since.) In the face of uncertainty, fear often turns future forecasts into 'fear-casts'; hijacking the imagination and dismissing the facts. Or at least focusing only on facts which justify alarm and feed more fear. 

It's why, in our heightened climate of fear, our fears can be disproportionate to the threat, causing us to suffer more from our fear than from the source of it.

It's also why it may serve you to take a step back, to challenge your perceptions of the risks and to ensure you aren't conflating legitimate threats with irrational ones. 

The fact that people of color are more likely to feel anxious (78%) is understandable given how Covid-19 has disproportionally effected them. Yet younger employees under 25 are also among the most anxious (75%), despite being in the lowest risk group. As I shared in the interview below with Good Morning Washington, our anticipation can sometimes be worse than the event we're anxious about as our fears are disproportionate to the threat.

Needless to say, taking care of our psychological safety and mental health on returning to the workplace will be of no less important as taking care of our physical safety and wellbeing. Failing to do so will only add amp up stress on our immune system, reducing our capacity for other challenges of transitioning back to work (like dusting off your work wardrobe.) 

If you are feeling at all apprehensive about returning to the physical workplace, the following strategies will help you manage the 'fear factor' and set yourself up for as smooth - and stress free- a transition as possible.

Stay attentive to your emotional state

First up, it's okay not to feel 100% okay. Yet in our culture of toxic positivity, you might feel pressured to push down anxiety and put on a brave face. Resist it. That's not to say you should dwell on what makes you anxious (definitely not!), but to encourage you to acknowledge all emotions as legitimate. Only when you own your fears can you avoid them owning you. Emotional mastery begins self-awareness; tuning into whatever emotions you're feeling.

Prepare for feeling 'lost in the familiar' 

When offices closed and we were forced to work from home, we knew it would be different. Our brains are wired to make sense of unexpected change. But on returning to work, what was once familiar may feel disconcertingly unfamiliar, at least in the beginning. While it may only take a few seconds each time to adjust to the new protocols - temperature screenings, social distancing, mask wearing - many will find the initial arrival mentally jarring because it's not what we've been conditioned to experience and will require extra mental energy to adapt to and process. So as you readjust in the first few days and weeks, prepare yourself to arrive home much more exhausted than you think you should.   

Short-circuit stress from spiraling downward

Stress internalizes in the body - a clenched jaw, headaches, shoulder or back pain, shallow breathing, chest tightness, fidgeting. So the faster you can identify your stress signals, the sooner you can intervene. One of the simplest interventions is to do a quick body scan. Notice where you're feeling tight in your body and take a few long deep breaths into that spot, actively stretching out or relaxing that part of your body. A longer term strategy is to develop a meditation practice to re-center and ground yourself in deliberate calm.

Set boundaries on environmental triggers (and fear-mongers) 

Environmental factors can trigger or stoke anxiety so be extra vigilant in 'standing guard' on your energy and emotional space. If scrolling social media winds you up, take a month - or year - off it (you really won't miss anything!). If cables news gets you riled up, opt for a 5-minute news round-up via a news podcast such as NPR. Likewise, if certain people are always talking about the latest virus variant or and focusing solely on negatives, give them a wide berth or tell them you'd prefer to stick to sports for now.

Whatever you do, don't let the anxieties and fears of others become your own. Left unchecked, they easily can.

Spread positive emotional contagion and be someone others want to see again!

Just as fear is contagious, so too is optimism, joy, gratitude, humor and courage.  So make a conscious decision to be a source of positivity in your team. Get the ball rolling before you even return to the office by inviting everyone to share what they've missed most. Once you're back, make a point of having fun and find light-hearted ways to laugh about the transition, including the frustrations. Consider setting up a RWP (Return to Work-Place) 'mishaps' sharing forum or have a funny mask day each week. A recent study found that people are more motivated to return to work to see work colleagues than to secure face-time with their boss. Think of your ideal team mate...and emulate them!  

Prioritize routines and self-care rituals

As your workday routine changes, be creative in maintaining those parts of your day that have nurtured a sense of wellbeing over the pandemic. For instance, if you've  broken up your daily Zoom-marathon with walks in your neighborhood, consider a regular lunchtime walk outside. Likewise, prioritize those 'resilience building' rituals that expand your emotional bandwidth for life.

Reduce the 'Unknowns' and take some of the guess work out of Day One

Familiarity reduces fear. Unknowns amplify it.

It explains why people who've worked 100% remotely are more anxious about returning to the workplace (and to overestimate the risks) than those whose jobs have required them, at least partially, to work outside their homes. 

The anticipation of what it's going to be like can cause more stress than your actual experience of it.  So if all the unknowns of what work will look like when you go back have your head spinning, be proactive in reducing them. Talk to your boss or HR about your company's health and safety measures. Chat to colleagues who've been back at work already or do do what kids do before their first day of school and do trial run to re-familiarize yourself.

Expect some separation anxiety (yes, you may feel 'home-sick')

Chances are you've been craving a change of scenery over the last year. Yet it's quite possible that you'll actually feel a little 'homesick' when you first leave home for work.  You see, we humans are not only attached to people and pets, but to places we've developed a strong emotional bond with (it's called 'place attachment'.)

In the last year, our homes have been one of our few safe havens. So if you find yourself missing it more than feels reasonable, be patient as you readjust to feeling safer back in the world and workplace again too. You will. 

Embrace psychological discomfort but focus on what you do want

Change, even change for the better, always triggers emotional discomfort. Truth is, none of really know how our workplaces (or lives) will change as we emerge from this pandemic. Only one is certain... it will be different. So embrace the uncomfortable emotions that arise but make a decision not to let fear call the shots.

Nudge your way back out of your familial comfort zone by staggering your return to a full 'in-the-office' work week. Start with one day the first week and work your way up to whatever you plan to do. Instead of focusing on what you don't want, focus on what you do want.... in this case, a great return back to the workplace. 

Before anyone had ever coined the term 'neuroscience', Winston Churchill said, "Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision." Churchill described courage as "the first of human qualities... because it is the quality which guarantees all others."

If this virus has taught us anything it's that life is too precious not to be lived fully... not fear-fully. As I wrote at the start of this pandemic when my husband was hospitalized for Covid-19, when fear runs high, the need for courage runs higher.

So if you do nothing else from reading this article, take a big deep breath and connect to the courage within you. You are braver than you know.