Coming home to ourselves

When we look back, I suspect that one of the impacts of the pandemic will be how we got to see each other more for who we are.

Pre pandemic, most of us had, often unconscious, routines to convey to others how we wanted to be seen. Where we lived, the clothes we wore, the cars we drove, the holidays we took. As businesses, carefully crafted PR campaigns, Instagram imagery, smart offices in smart locations.

Then, the pandemic.

Zoom calls in tracksuit bottoms nobody could see—a choice of aspirational green screen background or the reality of the home office (I imagine sales of bookshelves rocketed). Outside the theatre of the office, we started to get a better understanding of who we are. Dealing with the reality of homeschooling, supporting wider family and local community, and understanding the reality of where we live when we cannot escape to the office or meetings far, far away. The unnerving realisation for many managers that their jobs existed because the office existed and gave them …