Return to on-site work

[mtbc]

I was on campus last Wednesday, I may not yet have mentioned that it is much as one might expect from outside impressions. I have stopped in a few times before but this was my first full workday there, which I got to finish by taking a look at our large pulsed neutron beam facility. My group is one of those trying out a hybrid work policy, working from home some days and on campus for others. For me it makes good sense, from home I am more productive (fewer distractions, less time lost and energy wasted in travel), more collaborative (physical presence is no longer part of reaching out or listening in), and more accessible (few things pull me away from the computer screen for long) but it is also nice to see people in person, have access to gyms, etc. I have not quite thought through lunches, for now I shall probably fall back to typically breakfasting on fried eggs, bowls of granola or oatmeal, whatever, then bringing a couple of sandwiches into work, not that American grocery stores offer anything like the range of convenient sandwich fillings that are abundant in Britain. I hope that management ultimately deems this hybrid work tryout to be a success. Among the staff, students, and contractors, a high fraction is vaccinated and SARS-CoV-2 cases are rare, it is refreshing to be able to relax indoors with more than carefully selected neighbors.

Comments

[wpadmirer]

I'm glad you can feel safe at work. Right now RSV (a respiratory thing) is making the rounds of the Executive Suite. I think sometime after I retire in two and a half years I can quit wearing a mask all the time. (sigh)