While our passion for sourdough might have waned and we’ve harvested our tomato plants, there are other positive elements of the last six months that we may want to hold onto, going forward

Exploring the local area

Before we were limited to an hour’s outdoor activity earlier in the year, we probably didn’t give our local area the attention it deserved. Now we know that we don’t need to travel far to explore nature and our local coffee shop’s barista skills are more than up to anything the centre of town can offer

Introverts have come into their own

By their very nature, introverts aren’t ones to shout about themselves. But boy, did extroverts need their help in how to cope with just being on our own, getting on with work and learning to appreciate life without looking to our next social interaction to sustain us.

Saving money on the daily commute

With the season ticket all but a thing of the past, there might have been a notable upswing in part of our disposable income. This might even have encouraged us to invest in a bike or even look into some investment options for this extra cash.

We don’t need presenteeism

When some of us were allowed back into our offices, we knew what we had to do when we were there. We weren’t appearing to toil behind our computer screens for the sake of it but getting on with the tasks in hand and leaving the office when they were completed. It makes you wonder why we stayed behind unnecessarily all those times.

Recruitment is more far reaching

Remote working is likely to be with most teams in some way, shape or form for a long time to come. That means that when searching for new starters, geography doesn’t have to be issue. And, crucially, this has levelled the recruitment playing field for those who might have mobility issues and wouldn’t’ have been able to get into an office.

Taming the technology in our lives

Whether it’s not clicking to upgrading our desktop operating systems or consistently forgetting which TV remote does what, we all have our technology refusenik moments. But when Zoom or Teams became our only way of communicating with colleagues and friends, we all got to grips with the technology. Fast.

Addressing our diversity issues

Whether it’s looking to unconscious bias training, reading more widely or supporting BAME-owned businesses, the last few months with the powerful images and issues of racism brought to us by the Black Live Matter movement, diversity has rightly been brought into much sharper relief for all of us.

Learning to be sensitive to symptoms

There was always an unhelpful minority in every office who would struggle in when clearly sick, spreading their germs as they went. Now we know that if you show symptoms (of Covid of course but also of other contagious conditions like the flu) it’s best to stay put, rest up and stop the spread.

Trust is everything

Some but by no means all managers had problems trusting their employees if they couldn’t see them. The mass migration to homeworking has meant having to allow individuals to get on with tasks more autonomously. Despite not sitting side by side, this has likely encouraged a greater sense of cooperation and trust as a result.

There’s more to life than work

Whether it’s spending more time with family or not defining yourself by your job, the events of 2020 have given us all pause for thought on how we view ourselves and our relationships with others. Which has got to be a good thing.