Day 361: The Value of Going to Work
This week, I went back to school.
Hardly anyone was there. During summer break at a law school, only the small handful of people on twelve-month contracts hit the office regularly. All us nine-month people (including most professors) take off for parts unknown and stop by once in a while.
I’ve been focused on a few writing projects this summer, but I’ve enjoyed working from home. After the busy academic year, it’s nice to have no commute and work in shorts and flip flops. And I can keep up with things like watering the landscaping and vacuuming the stairs.
Social Isolation Cocktail
After a week-long conference in Chicago, though, where I was surrounded by two thousand people and stimulated by all kinds of interesting work and valuable ideas, followed by a short, fun visit with family, I came home and felt a vague mix of anxiety, boredom, and irritability.
After several days, I knew needed to do something.
Deep down, I knew what the problem was, and I knew what would fix it.
I was content working from home. But I know that I was having social connection withdrawal. I knew that going out was what I really needed.
The Value of Seeing Humans
Post-COVID and pre-AI, we need reminding that we’re social creatures. The psychology literature makes clear that we are happier when we connect with others more — even introverts.
And connecting digitally isn’t equivalent. The eighty-year Harvard Study of Adult Development found that the happiest and longest-living people didn’t necessarily have the largest number of relationships; they had the highest quality relationships. Joy, not genes, determines our health and wellbeing.
It’s hard to do everything that we need to do to work outside the home. We have to pack a lunch, lay out our clothes, provide for our kids and pets and plants, get up early to work out, shower, get dressed for real, eat, leave on time, commute … and that’s all before we’ve even started work.
But all that allows us to have social connection. Not to mention sunshine, exercise, and Vitamin D.
After two days of this routine, my brain feels happy and healthy again. For some of us, a hybrid schedule might be ideal — plenty of days to get the juice of going out into the world, but a day or two to devote a little extra time to our home environments and families, freeing up a few extra weekend hours for true leisure.
Just don’t forget that going out is part of what makes it feel good to stay home. Going out is hard. But we’re made to do hard things. It’s worth it.