What kinds of things make working in an office 5 days a week most most manageable?

[Anonymous]

This whole discussion is "what is a weekend?".

It is a flex to pretend not to know how to go to work.

[Anonymous]

OP here.

12:47 - hopefully you're less of a grumpy pants at the office than you are when behind a screen on DCUM. 🙃

Thanks everyone else for these great suggestions, including the handful that made me LOL. (I will for sure be pooping on company time...).

[Anonymous]

Teas and, for me, an electric kettle. Chargers. Definitely AirPods.

One of the benefits for me in going in is no access to my kitchen. I’m packing a lunch and maybe a small snack but that’s it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For newer employees, it is great to seek mentorship, which was hard to do during remote work. Having and seeking mentors brings great satisfaction to both mentees and the mentors. Setting up lunch/coffee times (even treating them for coffee), or casually going into a more experienced staff member's office for a few questions helps improve morale/make the day more enjoyable for everyone.

+1 This is what I miss most about the office.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People did this for generations! You'll get used to the new norm probably faster than you think. There's a virtue to getting out of the house.

I also see more flexibility after COVID. We go in office but we can come in late or leave early if needed and make up the work in the evening. Although I personally prefer to leave work at work.

[Anonymous]

Have a weekly lunch date with a friend and coffee dates with other friends.

[Anonymous]

I cycle to work and back. This commute is the best part of my day.

[Anonymous]

As an aside- are they not enforcing drinking or eating on the Metro any more? The few times I've taken it, I've seen a lot of people very blatantly doing both.

[Anonymous]

I try to pack a few days of lunches at a time rather than take stuff every day. I also leave shoes at the office and wear commuting/walking shoes. I keep phone chargers at the office also.

[Anonymous]

Walking around, seeing what people are doing, hovering at their computer, eating smelly foods. Booking large conference rooms to sit in alone, hanging out in the cafeteria, taking 45 minutes to clean a workstation hot spot before and after using it, checking out the supply closet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I'm thinking most about is dinners. Losing that hour to the commute home will make getting dinner on the table a whole lot more challenging. The aspirational me is planning on doing lots of dinner prep on Sundays so it's quick and easy (and already planned out!) during the work week

I'm back to a meal kit. I pick quick and easy meals that can be made in 30 minutes. I don't have to think about anything, just pull out the ingredients and go.

I also went to a capsule wardrobe. The same (or similar) pants in mass quantity, plus stanard tops and sweaters + Rothys. I really don't care if it's super stylish. I can put it on and go.

Yes, my work wardrobe has always been solid dress pants in a variety of colors and various solid or print tops. I only buy things that coordinate with black and gray shoes and bags so no switching to coordinate with navy or taupe and I keep shoes in the office.

[Anonymous]

Oy, I just keep thinking about the burden these extra hours are going to put on families. The though of one spouse listening to book on tape for an hour on the metro while kids are in longer extra care, the other spouse is left doing the kid shuttle, cooking, homework, bath routine. WAH was really good for families who were able to do it.

[Anonymous]

Audiobooks for commute
Nice coffee and half and half to keep at work
*nice headphones*- My agency won't buy them but they're key for dealing with cubicle farms of people all talking on video calls at once.

[Anonymous]

I was in office one day a week in 2024 (weirdly my office made me fully remote for 2025 as everyone RTOs). I am sluggish in the mornings so what I did was prepare my bag for the office the night before and have it all ready to go. In my bag I kept extra chargers, a variety of snacks, nice hand lotion and hand sanitizer. If I’d had my own permanent workspace these are things I’d have kept in my desk drawer. When I packed my bag the night before I’d add a banana and water. I treated myself to lunch out/carry out as I needed something to look forward to. I also set out my clothes the night before and when possible showered as my hair takes forever to dry. I actually didn’t mind my commute. I listened to audiobooks or a podcast. Pre-kids I worked in the office 5 days a week and never thought it was a big deal at all, but it felt overwhelming when the time came to return to office work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

12:47 - hopefully you're less of a grumpy pants at the office than you are when behind a screen on DCUM. 🙃

Thanks everyone else for these great suggestions, including the handful that made me LOL. (I will for sure be pooping on company time...).

I am in a fine mood, not grumpy. You just made that assumption up.