How To Stay Social While Working From Home

Now that the shrinking of our social lives is no longer a legal mandate, why are so many of us still feeling isolated and lonely within our jobs and lives, and how do we reverse this?

While working from home has liberated many people and allowed flexibility, exploration, and more time for families and friends, there is naturally a downside. We’re even more surrounded by screens than before. We probably spend more of our time with pixelated faces rather than real ones. Pixelated faces even talk back now, they often appear expressionless, and they sometimes forget you can see them, it’s really strange. 

The total removal of physical closeness, the chance of anything spontaneous happening, and the limiting of body language have turned conversation - a primary human process - into an excruciating game of guessing who is going to speak when and when they might stop. The stubborn resilience that two naturally shy people display when accidentally talking over each other is remarkable, “no you go,” “no after you”, “no seriously, you go first.”

You will never find me eulogising about the commute, but it did push you up, quite literally, against real human beings. Occasionally something funny happened, or someone was kind, and there was a precious interaction between two people who, social norms dictate, should be looking away from each other. The office too provided its moments, meetings in person, Thursday night drinks and kitchen chats. 

There’s even a burgeoning area of science looking at how societal and technological changes are happening so rapidly that it’s far outpacing evolution, meaning that in just a few generations we have become completely unadapted to our environment. If your head feels a little heavy sometimes, or your life feels a little small, it’s little wonder. 

Let’s look at how we can all remain social and sane while enjoying the many benefits of working from home. 

Community

We’re social animals who are adapted to living in groups of around 100 - I’m not saying join a commune, cult or move into a giant hostel - but it’s interesting to note when considering why we feel the way we do. Friends are brilliant, but communities are what built and sustained the human race. Communities have a variety of personalities providing greater stimulation and requiring increased complexity in interaction. Feeling a part of something, something you care about is something that we all need to feel truly human. Having been separated, with the conversation around careers being so individualised rather than around what we all might achieve together through our careers, the pleasure of being a part of something bigger than ourselves is sometimes forgotten.

Think about your hobbies, what interests you, and maybe even what worries you? There’s probably a group for that. One small crumb of positivity in an increasingly crumbling world is that there is no shortage of problems to get involved in helping. Whether that’s activism, environmental community groups, walking groups, helping animals, the elderly, or children. Consider the things you find yourself thinking about, googling, reading, listening to, or watching, there are so many ways in which you can get involved, it’s not only joining local football teams or hanging out at the pub looking for straying eyes. 

Volunteering can be enormously rewarding, or you might like to follow interests in cooking, pottery or languages. Think of the things you already do and consider whether these can be done in community. For example, if you work out, why not join a group that exercises together in the park and goes for drinks after. Join events or talks and tap into those communities. These suggestions almost always provoke some resistance within us because they involve making us feel a whole lot more vulnerable than watching Netflix does, but we know it works. 

The Great Outdoors

We’re probably as disconnected from nature as we are from each other. The outdoors lets us tackle both problems at once. It’s a great way to have a more open-ended chat, invite a nice neighbour, a family member or a friend that lives nearby - why not invite an enemy if you fancy spicing things up a little. 

I understand that this advice can also sound a little condescending and piecemeal, if it were as easy as just ‘going outside’ we would. Sometimes something more ambitious can help. If it feels true to you that you may be disconnected from nature, why not check out Alastair Humphreys, creator of the ‘micro-adventure’ and someone who's worked with Escape from the beginning. Microadventures are designed to work around a working life and can be a brilliant thing to share with friends or like-minded people and to reawaken a little more wildness and adventure in your life.

Other ideas involve getting out of the house and walking to a cafe that might be that little bit further away, or one where you have to cross a park to find it. Maybe even stop off at that park and work from there if the weather allows it. 

Another way in which we’re hoping to provide another option for you all here at Escape is with a new project we’ve got in the works – The Escape Route! We know that our escapees want more than just jobs, many want to embrace life more fully in lots of ways. We want to create monthly walks in locations around the world where our escapees can meet up to walk, talk and share ideas. We’re really excited about building a more in-person and global network between us all, one that celebrates what life can be and symbolises escaping. We’re hoping to start this by the end of this summer so you keep your eyes open, and register your interest here!

Something to look forward to

This is a slightly rogue one, but I believe having something in the diary to look forward to is underrated. Without this, the hours and days of work can stretch out before you into the rather dispiriting distance, no matter how much you love your job. So, give yourself permission to do something you’ve been really wanting but haven’t been able to justify to yourself. 

Set something up with someone you really love, someone who is easy to be around, and do something fun. It’s amazing how much we say ‘oh I’d love to try that’ or ‘I’d love to go there’ but never do. Whether it’s something fun and challenging like jumping in the sea or climbing a hill, or something more leisurely like trying a new bar or restaurant. Pick things that give you excitement and see the difference it makes to have something to look forward to. It starts to provide colour to your other days as well, and once you have a fun experience, you’re so much more likely to book in more. 

On-screen team fun

I feel we should look at some on-screen activities too because while nothing replaces occupying the same room as someone, screens still do an amazing job of connecting people across distance. In our team at Escape, we speak every morning and try to organise some monthly team fun exercises. Last month was an online Mexican cooking school and it was awesome, even if it has made me more passionate about chilaquiles than necessary. 

If you’re within a team or an organisation with people you like, suggesting daily, weekly or monthly activities can be a great way to get a little closer as a team and to share more about your lives. This can be invaluable in making turning up to work feel a little more human. Maybe kick off a meeting with a small game that allows you to laugh and get to know each other better.

If you’re not as close with your team, are a freelancer, or are in a role that is primarily independent, then maybe consider jumping on a call with your friend and working together and chatting in the breaks. Other options could include services such as Flown. Flown provides online group work sessions run by trained facilitators to allow you to be your most productive self but with company. Another great option would be to check out the courses and programmes featured on Escape. These can be brilliant ways to find a community of people who are interested in the same things you are and with the same ambitions. The feedback we’ve had on the courses on Escape over the years has always been that the community people find are almost always the most nourishing and important aspects of the course.

Finally

The idea of connectivity is changing and screens seem to be stepping into more areas of our lives. Working from home can be challenging, but it also presents us with amazing opportunities and flexibility to do things we could never have done before. When we’re kept within the walls of our home for work the world can feel like it’s narrowing and limiting. Getting out of your comfort zone a little almost always leads to brilliant things. Allow yourself to dream a little and get excited about the things you can now fit around your work. We’re also really hoping to see you on a walk on Escape Route soon!