I am one of those fortunate enough to not have my work affected by the quarantine, having the luxury of working predominantly from home for almost a year now. And I am definitely enjoying the perks that come with it. Like sleeping in late. Cooking more. Having more personal time for myself. Even though initially I was not good at working alone, I have found my own rhythm now. So if you were to ask me whether I missed going in to work, I would be hard pressed to give an emphatic answer.

But on the occasional days when I do go into office (since the situation is under control here), I have noticed a difference in my mood. It is not because of any fun moments or reduction in the workload. Rather on these days, I feel more tired by the time I get home, enough to just eat and crash. What makes the difference actually is the few social moments scattered during the day, chatting about work, listening to colleagues discuss some topic, going out for lunch. These interactions don’t make a marked impact in my daily life but they help to even out the harder things like pressure to meet a deadline, bitterness over an argument or just plain loneliness.

It has made me realize how important it is for humans to be social. Even though we all have varying degrees of extroversion, interacting with others is a fundamental part of our DNA. And we can never discount the importance of inconsequential communal moments in our day to day lives.