Information and tips to help you return to working on campus:
Here are a few tips to help you return to working on campus and ensure a smooth transition:
Plan your return in advance
Check-in on your emotions and feelings
Manage your workload and set realistic expectations
Remain flexible to changes and develop resilience
Plan your return in advance
From being away from campus for longer than year, you will need to re-connect your IT equipment and may find that your workspace needs tidying and reorganization upon your return. This may trigger emotions such as anxiety, and stress and some behaviours such as avoidance and procrastination. This is normal. Being mindful about what to expect and what you may experience will help you plan to deal with what you may encounter in your workspace.
In order to help you transition as smoothly as possible, speak to your manager and plan for your return by setting aside adequate time to set up your workspace again. Try to ensure that you have no urgent duties to complete during your set-up period, so that you can focus on tidying and reorganizing your setup. Consider planning your return over multiple days or weeks, if possible, to allow for a smooth transition.
Here are 5 tips to help you de-clutter and re-organize your workspace:
- Purge your space. File, shred, and discard things that you no longer need. Look at one area, cabinet or drawer at a time, dividing your workspace into smaller areas to tackle.
- Find a space of belonging for everything in your workspace. Try to maintain that designated space as the home location for that item to maintain organization.
- Identify items that you may be frequently needing during your workday and put them in close proximity to your workstation.
- Clear your desk, organize your drawers and organize your computer files, if needed.
- Add a personal touch your space by including things such as plants, pictures, affirmation notes, a new calendar or anything that helps you feel uplifted.
Check-in on your emotions and feelings
Returning to work on campus may require lifestyle changes for some individuals, such as having to set an alarm to wake up earlier to pack a lunch, remembering to put the garbage out the night before or require additional time to commute to work, which may affect both your morning and evening routines. Thinking about the changes that need to be made to your lifestyle may make some people feel like they are not ready for the change. New routines can also be hard to implement, and may lead to frustration, anger, and stress. This is all normal. It is important to decide what needs to be in your routine, be consistent, and reward yourself for following your routine until you adapt to it.
Just like any change, you will need to plan for it, start the transition early, and be prepared for any uncertain feelings. To help you work through these feelings, here are some things that you can do:
- Lay out what your day will start to look like once you start working from the campus again. Identify how your daily routines (personal and professional) will change by comparing your current daily schedule to the schedule required when you are back to working on campus. Recall how your schedule was previously, was it manageable?
- Write down the feelings you may be experiencing when you think about returning to work. This will help you identify the areas that you need to focus on to help you successfully return to working on campus. By writing down our emotions in describable words, we are able to better address them. If you need help starting with identifying your emotions use this assessing emotions checklist.
- Try to find the causes of your feelings to help manage them better. Recognize that the feelings may be temporary during a transitional period.
- Learn more about returning to the workplace after a pandemic and the mental health considerations by reading the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Psychological Toolkit.
- Try using mindfulness techniques to help ground you and work through your feelings. Use this document - How to be a Mindful Employee to help you become more mindful.
- Talk to your manager, a co-worker, family, or friends about the feelings you are having. Talking through our emotions can help us to put our feelings into words that can help us describe what we are feeling.
- View the videos added to Trent HR's Return to Campus Online Group provided by Therapy Assistance Online, in which you can view a variety of tools for well-being, resilience and behavioral health. It is free to sign up and is anonymous, confidential and available 24/7 for students and employees.
- Faculty and teaching staff have many resources available to help support mental health in the learning environment, including resources on how to enable better student mental health and ways to create a healthy and engaging learning environment.
- Access the available resources through Trent's Employee Assistance Program LifeWorks, which is available to you and your dependents, at no additional cost, to help you manage personal issues at work or at home. Services are confidential and are offered 24/7, 365 days a year. LifeWorks also offers resources for managers to support their employees who may be dealing with Mental Health issues. Visit their website, reach them by phone 1-877-207-8833 or download the Mobile App (User ID: trentemployee ; Password: eap ).
- If your emotions are overwhelming, persistent and/or are interfering with your daily functioning, it is important to seek mental health support.
Additional Resources:
How to manage anxiety as the lockdown lifts
Coronavirus anxiety workbook
A psychological toolkit for heading back to work
Therapy Assistance Online Association Modules
Manage your workload and set realistic expectations
Transitioning back to working on campus may feel like additional effort at first. It is important to manage your workload and set realistic expectations, personally and professionally, to avoid feeling overwhelmed. Talk with your manager if you require assistance managing your workload or setting realistic expectations.
Here are 5 tips to help reduce the feelings of being overwhelmed:
- Create a morning and evening routine that helps prepare you for your workday. Taking time to build in enjoyable activities such as walking, exercising, reading or some alone time to help you refresh.
- Ensure you plan proper nutritional meals during your day, drink lots of water and avoid drinking excessive amounts of caffeine to ensure energy levels are maintained.
- Plan for adequate, quality sleep to reduce daytime sleepiness.
- Incorporate restorative breaks into your schedule, both during working hours and in your personal life to re-energize.
- Check-in on your energy levels regularly, and help identify when productivity levels may be impacted. Maintaining your energy levels will ensure you are capable of working your best.
Remain flexible to changes and develop resilience
When you return to work on campus, you may experience nostalgia from the pre-pandemic times. Nostalgia is a feeling that occurs when we think of the past. It is more frequent in times of uncertainty and change and is experienced by everyone.
Being reminded of the past and the vibrancy of the campus can be exciting. While we are returning to campus, it is important to remain flexible to changes and remember that not everything will return to the same as it was before. Many processes, procedures and personnel have changed over the last 2 years. Recognize that change is inevitable and we will continue to develop and grow to find our resiliency to move forward and help create a new normal. When we are stuck ruminating about the past, it may become a barrier to adapting to change. Try to take time to adapt to new things and focus on the now.
After spending a long time away from colleagues, friends, and our beloved students, many will experience excitement to interact with others and become social again. Recognize that not everyone will have the same comfort levels during the transition back.
When interacting with others upon your return to campus, keep the following tips in mind:
- Some individuals may want to maintain social distancing and not everyone will be comfortable with handshakes just yet. Spend time reflecting and setting your own boundaries and identifying your comfort zone.
- Ease into social interactions. Everyone is getting used to the new normal and you should not expect everyone to jump into social situations the same way you may want to.
- Remain mindful when interacting with others to make everyone feel included and ensure no one feels uncomfortable. Respect everyone’s space and ease into social interactions.
- Remember that we have hired many new staff during the pandemic, so be sure to welcome the new faces and help them become a part of our community.
- Remember to follow proper hygiene protocols to ensure the health and safety of everyone.
- If you are unsure how to interact with someone, ask them what kind of social interaction they are comfortable with. Use clear, inclusive, and interactive communication to communicate how you feel, what you may be seeking, and any boundaries that you may wish to set.
- Remember that it is not appropriate to ask if someone has had their vaccination. Medical information is confidential information, and no one should feel obligated to share information about their medical conditions with anyone whom they do not wish to share that information with.
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