Article: If the pandemic has made you anxious about returning to "normal," you're not alone
And some people don’t want to return to work as they once knew it at all.
“Why on earth am I spending all my time either at work or thinking about it?” said a 25-year-old researcher from the tristate area who asked to be identified as KB. “It sure as shit doesn't think about me. As cliche as it sounds, I realized [during the pandemic] that I care so much more about seeing my family, working on my hobbies, etc., than I do about a career. I've definitely reevaluated what success means to me.”
“I'm worried about losing my new lease on life,” said Jane, a 26-year-old digital strategist from Louisiana. “Before the pandemic, I lived in a stressful city and dealt with a competitive work environment. I got so caught up in the rat race and trying to get ahead that I was burning myself out. After my office went remote, I decided to go back to my hometown. This has allowed me to spend time with family and reflect on what's important to me in life. I realized so many things I was chasing are pretty meaningless. I worry that when I return to the office and competitive environments, I'll lose that perspective and the sense of inner peace I've had over the last couple of months.”
“I never want to work for another corporation again,” said Nicole Peevy, 33, a student and entrepreneur in Los Angeles. She was fired from her job during the pandemic, a crushing blow following a couple of deaths in her family. “I was so angry [about] how things were initially handled and how employers literally don't care if you work yourself to death, and that really depressed me and caused me to question the purpose of living. I want to work to live, not live to work.”
