Yes, we’re just as shocked as you are that we actually got through a day, or two … no actually three real life office days. To say the experiences were interesting would be a little bit of an understatement. 

Humans are Creatures of Habit

As one would imagine, the transition from working remotely full-time to attempting an in-office workday isn’t easy. In all honesty, we weren’t prepared for what was in store for us. As part of the Arora Online culture, we gather every morning for a virtual team meeting to get our ducks in a row, have a mini vent session (for the sake of our sanity), and mostly chat about our daily schedules. In true creatures of habit style, our minds struggled to comprehend the in-person version of our daily team meetings. Boy was it weird! Bottomless giggles, “this is awkward” glances and prolonged moments of brain lagging filled our Afrika Works office cubicle as we attempted to incorporate our usual processes in what was anything but a familiar environment.

The Tea You’re Here For… Office Addition

Our phenomenal team is made up of amusing and witty banterers who never miss an opportunity to crack a joke or simply share their exuberant personalities with the team. This should tell you that our co-working experience was anything but boring! When we weren’t working our magic on mailer briefs, social media strategies, influencer campaigns, and design projects, we were shooting insightful content to share with our TikTok community. May we brag for a second? We’re basically good at all things digital marketing, even drafting video scripts and turning them into valuable TikTok gems! 

Give us a challenge and we’ll smash it. We proved to ourselves that even mastering new skills like TikTok influen-soaring was a challenge we could smash. Trying to remember our script lines, however, was a humbling experience that brought us right back down to earth.

 

#TeamAO Perspective

Here’s How The Team Felt About our First Office Day Experience

Siphokazi Zondwa  – Digital Designer 

“I loved getting out of the house and seeing everyone for the 1st time in person. One of my highlights was waking up at 4am rather than 7.30am to rush through traffic, very weird.”

Steven van Wyk – Account and Strategy Director 

“As the person who verbally takes everyone through the schedule during our morning standup meeting, it was incredibly awkward suddenly doing that in person! I had gotten so used to how I managed that part of the day, that I was suddenly looking at the team in the eyes and saying, “Ok so what’s the status of x project?” felt bizarre. But I’m glad we’ve subsequently had more office days to get used to it, and now I can see how being in person can be great for brainstorming.” 

Neil Wilkie – Project Manager 

“These past few in-office gigs have been a real treat. 2 years ago, back when I worked full time in office, you would never hear me utter the words “Yay office day” Maybe it’s the great energy between our team that I look forward to or the change of scenery, or both, who knows. All I know is that it’s  become a day I now look forward to.” 

Paige Mashinini – Influencer Manager

“My first AO office day felt natural as I worked in the office for the majority of my career. I loved connecting with people again and I feel like it brought us a bit closer as a team.”

Kamohelo Vezi – Digital Strategist 

“Working remotely is all I know so having my first office day with the team was both a slightly odd and overwhelmingly positive experience which did wonders for my drive. I absolutely hated waking up early but it was worth every minute of lost sleep! I left feeling recharged.”

Kareesha Naidoo – Digital Marketing Director 

“The office day was weird…talking face-to-face about work with no screen?! Once we had our first standup meeting of the day, sitting in an actual office with my colleagues became fun as we could have little chats and laughs which is something I miss working from home.”

Paulina De Sousa-Matthews – Creative Director and Accounts 

“My favourite thing about office day is seeing everyone’s individual personalities and humour shine through. Office day for me means boosting team morale and feeling like a unit. Being able to review work on a colleague’s screen is the cherry on top.”

Mental Health is Wealth

There are pros and cons to everything, and working from home is no exception. Working remotely eliminates plenty of the traditional components (some of which are unpleasant) of going to work, such as commuting and dressing in formal attire. However, working remotely also has a few disadvantages including daily isolation, limited social interaction which can be detrimental to one’s mental health, and the possibility of overworking which we simply cannot overlook.

Studies show that fully remote workers are more likely to experience anxiety and depression compared to in-person workers. And although we live for the benefits and sweet rewards that come with working remotely, we must admit that it certainly has negative effects on our mental well-being. There’s something undeniably special about authentic physical human interactions that we were fortunate enough to experience. The occasional jokes and office chatter amidst chasing deadlines, combined with co-existing in a space among like-minded and driven team members, proved to be everything we didn’t know we needed.

We Survived it and Loved it!

We came to the realization that occasional office days are truly important – with an emphasis on “occasional”. Wondering if we’d ever consider doing it full-time.? The answer is a solid no! 

We also discovered that although we probably wouldn’t trade being remote workers for anything, we truly did enjoy being on the other side. What started as a “how about we gather for one coworking date” suggestion turned into “we need to do this once every month”. 

Written by Kamohelo Vezi