As I prepare to move into my new workspace after four years of working from home, I feel a sense of anticipation and excitement. I love my tranquil home office, with my desk facing a window that overlooks a desert hillside, through which an occasional coyote, bobcat, or javelina passes between the paloverde trees, barrel cactus, and large boulders. But sometimes, the endless video conferences strain my eyes and drain my energy. Now that our center’s new building complex is nearing completion, I find myself looking forward to going to work.
We worked closely with the architects through the design process to embed the seven domains of integrative health into the three buildings—the “mind,” “body,” and “spirit” buildings, and balance those with features supporting sustainability and post-COVID requirements. The buildings, surrounded by carefully laid out desert gardens, with an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-accessible labyrinth and walkways connecting to a neighboring green space, allow access to nature and spaces for quiet contemplation. While all its features and amenities are what attract me to leave my home office and venture out into the world, more than anything is the opportunity to be back with my colleagues to share in this adventure together and in person. When working from home, small problems can loom large, and while video conferencing, e-mail, and phone calls can help solve some of those problems, there is nothing like the sustenance one derives from being together in a common space. It can boost your mood, reduce stress, and make you look forward to the workday rather than sometimes dreading it.
*As anyone who has ever worked in an office environment knows, our workplace relationships can have a huge impact on our performance, our happiness, and even our physical health. Put simply, who we work with matters, and having friends at work can help us through the toughest times. Some surveys estimate that about 125 million people have friends at work—a staggering number. But friend is a somewhat ambiguous word. What one person thinks is a friendship, the other person may not. In general, a friendship at work is an informal relationship, one that is not part of the organizational........