For over a year many people have been working from home and the idea of coming back the office can be scary.
COVID-19 forced many businesses to work remotely. As more people get vaccinated and the COVID guidelines change, companies are slowly bringing back their workers, but some might not be ready.
”People have gotten accustomed to doing things a certain and any time you have a big shift in your routine, it can be anxiety provoking. Kinda of like going to that first day going to school as a Kindergartener,” said Dr. Sam Fiala, Chair of Counseling and Psychology department at Texas A&M University - Central Texas.
Many people over the past year have felt isolated and lonely, which makes returning to work a good thing, something Psychologist and Doctors agree on.
”I think at this point, for many people, the right balance is to go back to work but practice safety precautions and get vaccinated,” said Dr. John Myers, family medicine doctor at Baylor Scott & White in Waco.
Doctors stress that going back to the office doesn't mean that the pandemic is over, so returning to the office must be done safely.
”The safest way to prevent a covid infection is to be vaccinated. On top of that, just continue to do the things we are already doing with the masking and that sort of thing, is probably the second most important thing when you go back.” said Dr. Myers.
Health professionals believe you can return to the office safely, but it is perfectly normal to feel anxious about doing so.
”If you didn’t feel anxious then we might worry about you. Hey why aren’t you worried. You're missing the body’s warning signal if you're not feeling anxiety,” said Dr. Fiala.
It is recommended that if you do feel do anxious about returning to the office that you discuss that with your employer and speak to professional if needed.
