The Only Black Guy in the Office

Sleeping on the Job Is the Best Thing About WFH

As offices reopen, saying goodbye to the mid-workday nap might be the hardest

The Only Black Guy In the Office
LEVEL
Published in
4 min readApr 26, 2021

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Illustration: Michael Kennedy

Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com.

I knew this day would eventually arrive. I just hadn’t realized how much I’d dread it.

With vaccinations steadily rolling out around the United States, my company is beginning to introduce a plan for employees to return to the office. And while the early days of the pandemic found me longing for more IRL human interaction, I’m already feeling wistful for the days of working from home. I’ve got a zenned-out morning routine, no hectic commute, cost-effective and tasty lunches courtesy of my own kitchen, and, perhaps most importantly, a semi-weekly workday tradition: the midday nap.

About a month into WFH life, I inadvertently discovered the power of a good nap. On an easygoing Wednesday, with an afternoon devoid of Zoom calls that could’ve been emails, the caffeine crash hit like an avalanche of drowsy (or a large bite of the wrong kind of brownie). It didn’t take much: I simply spread out on my couch and powered down for a quick 20. I awoke charged up like Drake, with a…

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The Only Black Guy In the Office
LEVEL
Writer for

Do you know him? Is it you? The trials and tribulations of a Black man navigating corporate life.