[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

PArt of it due to the fact that work was always about work + social interactions. With the latter gone the normal people are feeling it and its breaking their minds.

Originally Posted by ashis89

I agree and have experienced (still do so) this lack of motivation situation. I sure can't explain how and why but hanging in here ain't fun. Yes, even vacation feels like an excercise even if I have enjoyed them.

Originally Posted by //M

It seems I am suffering from this "passive condition" now !

Thank you for sharing this - I did a bit more 'googling'; seems like this is a global phenomenon referenced as "Pandemic Brain" (/"Pandemic Brain Fog" /other terms).

A few initial articles/reports by The Guardian, News Medical, The Atlantic, Vogue and others.

What is the pandemic brain fog?
For starters, brain fog is nothing new. Dr Sahir Jamati, head of psychology at Masina Hospital, Mumbai, describes it as the period when the ability of the brain to think gets affected. “Brain fog is often characterised with forgetfulness, confusion, lack of concentration, focus and mental clarity. In the pre-pandemic times, it occurred during periods of extreme stress, lack of sleep, hormonal changes, pregnancy and so on,” he explains.

However, the onset of a global, unprecedented pandemic has disrupted everyday lives on a hitherto unwitnessed scale, triggering near-constant pressure and prolonged periods of anxiety, stress and fear coupled with uncertainty and restrictions. “Most of us are now experiencing a term known as pandemic brain fog. While less-to-moderate amounts of manageable stress can activate thinking, motivation and productivity, prolonged levels of high stress can create a negative impact on our functioning and overall well-being,” he explains. The world of science concurs—research has demonstrated that living under chronic stress can shrink the size of our prefrontal cortex or the part of the brain responsible for crucial cognitive functions, such as memory, concentration and learning.

“We’re all walking around with some mild cognitive impairment,” said Mike Yassa, a neuroscientist at UC Irvine. “Based on everything we know about the brain, two of the things that are really good for it are physical activity and novelty. A thing that’s very bad for it is chronic and perpetual stress.” Living through a pandemic—even for those who are doing so in relative comfort—“is exposing people to microdoses of unpredictable stress all the time,” said Franklin, whose research has shown that stress changes the brain regions that control executive function, learning, and memory.

That stress doesn’t necessarily feel like a panic attack or a bender or a sleepless night, though of course it can. Sometimes it feels like nothing at all. “It’s like a heaviness, like you’re waking up to more of the same, and it’s never going to change,” George told me, when I asked what her pandemic anxiety felt like. “Like wading through something thicker than water. Maybe a tar pit.” She misses the sound of voices.

According to new research from Harvard Medical School, the stress of isolation from lockdown and stay-at-home measures is making people sick. Their medRxiv* study suggests people not infected with SARS-CoV-2 are experiencing increased markers of neuroinflammation, otherwise known as "pandemic brain."

[saket77]

We worked from home for around 7-8 months during the first lock down. Same with my wife. I would say that it was good for us. We could do our job, take care of our daughter, make her attend her online classes, take care of home and chores and finish a lot of pending jobs at home relating to maintenance and makeover as we noticed a lot of possibilities that we didn't earlier due to the everyday race of normal workdays.
Our offices opened in December and then we were back to square one. After working from home for so many months, now it feels such a waste of time, energy and fuel just to reach office and work and go back home. I must mention that my work is something which can be totally managed from home but then company policy is that we are open now.

[Chetan_Rao]

I love talking to people, but I've never been much for casual socializing, so the pandemic has been a blessing in disguise on that aspect.

[Aditya]

Thread moved to the Shifting Gears forum. Thanks for sharing!

[mnram]

Even I don't feel the urge to return to office, though my working hours have increased in the WFH situation.
After the initial 6 months of COVID, the only thing I wanted was to start going to back in office. But around Q1 2021, when discussions regarding the return to work have started in my organization, I suddenly lost motivation and started pondering over the traffic & food situation. With the need to wear masks all the time, not sure how much comfortable it is to wear for such long hours.
Now me and my partner are apprehensive about going back to office, as we are able to manage both professional & personal life much more comfortably. Even we have to extend to finish some deadline, I enter my personal life within 5 mins, which I cherish a lot - As I had a travel time of 1hour one side.
In my strong opinion, the hybrid work culture is the way forward.

[am1m]

Something that's certainly happening and yet also difficult to nail down.

If I ask someone from my parent's generation, they'd be puzzled and say just get to work and get on with it. If I ask one of the kids I see at the gym (well, not kids, but in their early 20s), it'll be all about doing what makes you happy. (So much so, I don't think any of them have jobs anymore - who is paying taxes?! )

There's no reason to slog away at something just to keep participating in the endless cycle of luxuries becoming necessities and continuously focusing on the 1% who have it better than you, without counting your blessings and realizing that you already have it so much better than 99% of the world. At the same time it's silly to quit everything and squander one's savings doing whatever "makes you happy", because well, layoffs, retirement, and old age happen to everyone and you can't live on fresh air.

What works is somewhere in between and different for each person. I don't think there is a formula or plan that will work for all.

Personally, post-covid seems to be shaping up much better than pre. The biggest stress and time-waster in my life - the daily commute has been removed and I've even switched jobs to take a lower paying one to ensure it stays that way. I find that I have more time to unwind during the day, spend more time with the people that matter, and still be more productive at work. Again, it will be different for each person and what the long periods of lockdown have probably given us (again- those of us with the luxury to use lockdown to reflect - most of the people in the world didn't have that luxury) was the time to think about these things. Take it positively and think about priorities and what changes you want to make - or even if you really need to make changes at all - both are equally valid and don't need justification.

[srini1785]

Nothing much to add here except post a question:

All those who don't feel the "urge" to get back to work, all of you above 40?.

In that case its just good old "mid life crisis" .

[Madrasin_selvan]

While I felt the same issue, I forced myself to get back to Office to concentrate on the work. Although I was sure this would necessitate 2 hours of travel everyday while losing the comfortable WFH life, I could not find any other way to get out of this boredom.

[AltoLXI]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

At risk of sounding philosophical, one realization that's been reinforced during the pandemic is we're afraid - don't know if that's the right word for it - of being alone with our 'self'.

'Shikari' (a Kannada novel) by Yashwant Chittal, explores the state of human mind when confronted with uncertainty and lack of meaning in existence. The protagonist is victim of corporate politics but Covid wreaked havoc something at similar scale on people's lives.

He found the wait unbearable. He became suddenly and acutely aware that he had nothing to do. He shuddered. The question of what to do with his time had never bothered him before. But now, empty hours stretched before him, directionless. He recalled reading in a book on psychology that one of the greatest problems the human mind finds difficult to grapple with is the structuring of time.

Originally Posted by Samurai

Is it about goals having no meaning?

Nagappa ponders thus,

Why does this question, that doesn’t seem to bother millions of other living beings, constantly trouble me? Maybe it’s not because of my philosophical bent of mind, which I secretly take pride in, but because I have no zest for life. I think the very wellspring that energizes my being has run dry. Maybe it’s meaningless to search for the meaning of life. How can you search for something that doesn’t exist? This so-called ‘meaning’ is something we’ve invented. And then, how is creativity possible when there is no zest for life? How can the creative impulse spring in this arid desert?

A review here

[rakesh_r]

I have never taken a vacation since 2019. I did apply for one in 2020 and travelled to my native only to stay there for 7 months due to Covid. Cancelled my vacations in 2 days since it was WFH and fortunately I had taken my laptop. Come 2021, when I had enough leaves, I switched organisations (left old organisation on Friday, joined new organisation on Monday) in Aug, so now I am back to square one since I can't take any vacations now since I dont have any leaves in my kity.
That makes it 2 years for me without a vacation and it has heavily taken a toll on us. Come Diwali me and wifey are planning to drive somewhere- North, South, east or west, just drive.

[SN88]

Honestly they call us to office - we crib and complain, no family time.
They say work from home - we crib and complain, no me time.
Go to work outside - family says you are never at home.
Stay at home and work - family says you are always working.

We will find a reason to complain almost all the time irrespective of what is offered to us.
I realised this much before covid hit and had already inculcated that I will not complain! "It is what it is" really makes you stronger to deal with unnecessary thoughts and has actually resulted in amazing work results and to enjoy working more, like I dont feel I am "working". It feels like a regular thing like eating, playing/ watching sports, chilling etc.

[Kottayamkaran]

The situation has been the same with me. I lack the urge to work and my working hours have increased after WFH started. The last vacation I took was on Dec 19, a drive to Masinagudi. This year we were blessed with a baby boy and I am more apprehensive about going out. I have not set my foot in any restaurants, malls, or theaters ever since the pandemic started. I am now apprehensive about working in a closed office space with wearing a mask all the time. I have also become more paranoid about talking to people due to the fear of pandemic and also due to my baby. I recently switched my company and if companies start opening up, I will have to shift to an entirely new city. I am a bit afraid, to be frank staying in shared accommodation like PGs even for a few days in the beginning when I have to make the shift. So let's say that the pandemic has made me more paranoid than ever.

[ach1lles]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Since the last 18 months, and especially the last 3-4 odd months, there's a weird feeling of not getting the urge to work.

Thanks for bringing this up. I’m sure it’s at the back if the minds of many.

I’d suggest an alternate route. Get your bio-markers checked. Include lipid profile, hormone levels, specially testosterone, and inflammation markers. If you’ve had similar tests pre-COVID then that would give you a much clearer picture on current baseline.

Sometimes, things are mental not in cause, but in effect.

[HKP]

A week after I got my second vaccination shot, I started to go to the office and work. Initially 1-2 days of the week, now I go three days a week. For us, WFH is still on till Jan 2022, but you can work from the office if you wish to.

Why?

Covid will be around for a long time, and vaccinations will not be 100% in the next couple of years (all age groups and many countries). We need to adapt to the new reality of the risk and practice living and working. It also requires the vigilance of what is happening around you, being ready for the eventuality of the outbreak for yourself and your family.

Continue WFH or go to the office?

Even if your company says WFH is fine - watch your leaders and managers; If they are going to the office after all those statements- you better head out there or you are going to miss the visibility and opportunities for informal learning and career growth. If your leadership team and manager and most of the team are WFH, I don't see much value in working from the office at this point.

But to do my job, I don't need to be in the office!

I am in an IT product company. I have heard that statement 'my job can be done totally from home'. Yes, it seems like the tasks can be done. But job and career include myriad things - much more than completing the tasks. Think of people who grow fast and do well; completing the tasks is just 'met the expectation' in the appraisal terminology. It's not impossible to do all those from the remote you may say, but most of us (mainly 80-90's kids) are not skilled at that or trained for that model.

What next

I plan to continue in this model from now on, 3 days in the office and 2 days from home. In my case, I live nearby to the office, and the commute is very short.

Things can change any moment, adjust-adapt and act for the best outcomes possible from what life is offering you at this moment. Take a long-term view and make changes to your life- there is no one right formula here.

\\hkp

[Peterf]

I echo the same statement but for me reasons are different. It's like my engineering days where most of the day goes procrastinating or just being lazy.

The work I used to do in an hour in office now takes multiple days and weeks.
I am now prioritizing only the must have's and can see that actually there are no repercussions if we delay the non important work, or miss few calls etc. This has also shown me that only a few hours of work is actually needed to keep the ball rolling.

I now just wait for weekends planning what I will do in them, and then go to sleep when they actually arrive.

Definitely need to go on vacations