7 Office Quirks We Miss Most

The Agio team will use any excuse to celebrate, especially during the challenging times we’re facing. As it turns out, May 28^th is National Work from Home Day, which has us reminiscing about the good ol’ days at the office, surrounded by over-caffeinated colleagues and cranky commuters.

Now that every day is work from home day, we realize we miss a lot of those pesky cubicle quirks. To that end, we’ve amassed a list of the top seven things we never thought we’d miss back at the office…

Dirty dishes.

The communal kitchen served as a place for brilliant off-the-record conversation, birthday celebrations, and…your coworkers’ pileup of unwashed coffee mugs. As maddening as this was for you (and your office manager), now the only person you can blame for an overflowing sink of dishes is yourself.

The loud talker.

He made us curse the new open-floor plan. As his voice blared across the office, we were forced to listen to his conversations with the plumber, his kid’s principal, and the customer service rep at AT&T. We could also recite his entire sales pitch by heart after hearing it so many times. These days, your noisy colleague has been replaced by a tiny one who cries bloody murder when they need to be fed, changed, or burped.

Business casual attire.

Three months ago, we couldn’t wait to throw on a pair of sweats after a long day of looking like presentable adults. But fashion in the time of COVID-19 has hit a new low. Am I wearing pants on this call? You’ll never know.

Awkward elevator chat.

We used to stare at the ceiling, our phones, or those mini TVs if we were lucky—anything to avoid small talk once the elevator doors closed. But the awkward conversations didn’t vanish once we started working remotely. Instead, they linger as we wait for stragglers to join video conference calls. Please don’t ask me how my weekend was, days of the week don’t exist during quarantine.

The desk drive-by.

If you thought your headphones made it clear to passersby that you were not to be interrupted, you were wrong. The worst offenders of the desk drive-by stopped to chat at the most inopportune times, like when you were totally tuned into a project or about to pack up for the evening. Nowadays, we’re lucky if our cat wants attention from us.

Stinky lunches.

Your deskmate reheated last night’s salmon and brussels sprouts—no explanation needed. But after weeks of subsisting on Easy Mac and that banana bread you saw on Instagram, even microwaved seafood is starting to sound appetizing.

Thermostat woes.

Your office was a sauna when it snowed and forced you to dress in layers from May-September. Some colleagues even resorted to hiding their own personal space heaters under their desks. But the tables turned during work-from-home life, once you realized it’s you who’s footing the electric bill.