Workplace blues

My employer is working through its plans to phase in opening its offices globally. No one who doesn’t want to return to working on campus has to do so (unless you’ve got a job that absolutely requires it), and I opted to continue working from home.

So Sunday I went in to retrieve the remaining personal Items I still had in my desk. This mainly consisted of a bottle of Glühwein, a bottle of Dutch beer and a bottle of ibuprofen. As long as I was there, I took a bunch of files to the burn barrel and scooped up a few yellow stickies and a couple of pens from the drawer. I'm not going to be back for a long time.

But what struck me was how different “the office” is going to be.

One-way traffic patterns:

I completely violated them, but I was by myself and I was wearing the obligatory mask.

Workstations blocked off for any kind of use:

Ditto the four-person conference rooms:

The supply cabinets:

And the kitchens emptied of snacks and beverages and all the furniture stacked:

I confess I cried a little, because so much of what made it a pleasure to commute the one mile to work was the visible comradery. No more turning around at my desk to ask my manager a crackbrained question. No more schmoozing in the kitchen. No more whiteboarding in the conference rooms.

Even the building elevator and lobby are changed:

I made the right decision by choosing not to return, but this is just so sad.