How can we readjust to face-to-face work after more than a year of teleworking?

Due to the pandemic of the new coronavirus many workers had to go from face-to-face work to telecommuting O remote work. For many it was a tedious and stressful process of adaptation. Almost two years after the pandemic and with the process of vaccination directed, it is inevitable to think about a return to “normality.”

This will also be a re-adaptation process, Sonia Zevallos Bustamante, director of Adults and Older Adults of the INSM, explained to the Andina agency that it will not be easy not only because of the adaptation to the new schedules but because of the fear of contagion that still persists.

“This makes people re-adjust and adapt to a new situation. When people have already adjusted (to remote work), we again say ‘ok, now go back to work in person’; This obviously generates a series of situations, not only of the new adaptation in the schedules and in all these additional considerations, but also the fear of returning, fear of getting infected, the fear of taking the disease home”Said Sonia Zevallos.

The specialist stated that it can be harmful to our mental health go out thinking that we can catch it. This could affect our job performance so that person might need specialist care. “We know that things have to be disinfected at the beginning and at the end, but I don’t need to do it every 15, 10 or 20 minutes, there I see that there is already a frequency that is increased, that it is not proportional and there I have to think that something may be going”, He warned.

What to do to readjust in a healthy way?

The director of Adults and Older Adults of the INSM explained that adaptation can take between two to three months, however, it will depend on the adaptation capacity of each person. He stressed that we are “Animals of customs”, so it is difficult for us to break our habits. To carry out a healthy and sustainable adaptation process over time, Sonia Zevallos Bustamante, leaves us these recommendations:

Stay informed: “Always with safe and reliable sources, since the information is useful to reduce uncertainties and insecurities and therefore it is essential to avoid myths and fake news. It is important to keep abreast of all measures to minimize the possibility of contagion”Zevallos explained to Andina.

Restructure schedules: “Now we must add the time it will take to travel to our work centers, how we are going to travel, consider the time to perform certain tasks within the work center because it is not the same to be at home doing remote work than to return to an office where I’m going to be with more people, I’m going to suddenly have more distractions, and my use of time is going to be less efficient.”, He expressed.

Have the ability to give self-instructions: Remember to have your biosafety items. This will ensure protection against Covid-19. Adapt to having two masks on for several hours at a time of work. “A person must have the ability to give self-instructions, to keep in mind that their risk of contagion will be minimal if they follow the biosecurity measures and if they also received the vaccine; when you get home, you can also make sure you are not bringing the disease home“, said.

Being in the present: If this process causes anxiety you can calm down “with the breath (inhale slowly for a mental count of five, exhale, and repeat the sequence three to five times) and try to position the present because normally people tend to think a lot about the future, which has many overwhelming odds”.

Provide security and confidence to the smallest of the house: “If I give my son the assurance that I can control this situation by following the precautionary measures, I will give him that confidence and he will have much less anxiety when going to school … When it comes to communicating with children, you have to always be very confident and very confident that the situation will be okay”, Said the specialist.

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