by After more than two years of disruptions, lockdowns and uncertainty, employers face a new reckoning in 2022: bringing staff back to the office.
Dubbed by some as the “great hybrid return to work,” employers in a variety of industries are being forced to consider what the work environment will be like for staff.
In an environment where labor is scarce, how much can companies push employees to return to the office? And how can bosses design a solution to meet the needs of the collective after more than two years of flexible working from home where individual choice has reigned supreme?
This reckoning is not limited to New Zealand, with stories from the UK, US and Australia painting a picture of a world that has fundamentally changed and the dawn of what could very well become the work-from-home decade.
Of course, not all employees can work from home. Some never have, as they continue to appear on the front lines of hospitals, supermarkets, and emergency response calls. But research suggests that those who have tried working from home are hungry for more.
Emphasize coordination
A 2022 report from Stanford University heralds the benefits of a hybrid approach to work and acknowledges that most, but not all, staff benefit from some time at home and some time in the office.
Stanford’s recommendation is to coordinate the return to the office with the agreed days (for example, from Tuesday to Thursday in the office, Monday and Friday at home) and re-evaluate at the end of the year to create a long-term plan.
This copy-and-paste plan certainly won’t work for every workplace, but it does suggest that a coordinated approach has some merit.
Equity as key
Social connection is not the only reason some researchers advocate a hybrid work model in which teams arrive on the same agreed-upon days.
This approach can maximize fairness and equity, thereby promoting diversity and inclusion. Having teams in one place at the same time ensures equal transfer of information and opportunities for development and promotion.
This could be especially pertinent for working parents, who may already face hardship or discrimination for working flexibly or taking paternity leave, and for minority groups who have traditionally been singled out for promotions or mentoring opportunities.
Fairness, one of the key protective factors against burnout at work, helps counteract feelings of cynicism, anger, or indignation.
Decisions about returning to office must be transparent and clearly communicated. And while individual approaches may be necessary, roadmaps should equally benefit all groups—senior leaders and entry-level graduates alike.
ask, don’t assume
What works for some won’t work for everyone, so employers need to talk to their employees. This simple advice applies to both the general wellness of employees and the structure of the workweek.
By engaging in genuine conversations with staff and including them in the decision-making process, leaders can build and maintain a level of trust that is essential to a strong workplace culture of wellness and can ensure diverse needs are met. of the employees.
While everyone is neck-deep in the process of discovering a new normal, employers should take the opportunity to really tap into the specific wants and needs of their employees by implementing a consultation process.
This may mean providing various options for people to give feedback, such as informal check-ins (face-to-face, text, or otherwise) or more formal meetings and forums; This formal and informal communication can be supplemented by anonymous employee surveys to capture feedback that some people may find difficult to give in person.
This is a unique opportunity to launch a new way of working that meets the needs of employees and allows them to participate in the process of strengthening support and well-being in the workplace.
build back better
While many leaders may bemoan their employees’ reluctance to return to the office, citing a reduction in collaboration and information sharing in work-from-home settings, it’s worth asking if pre-COVID office spaces really are. they are so much better.
Open-plan offices, the norm for many modern workplaces, can actually increase stress responses in the body and, paradoxically, reduce collaboration, well-being, and engagement.
How do companies strike a balance between collaboration opportunities and information sharing, while protecting the individual well-being of an employee?
In order to build back better, employers should consider adapting office space in a way that is suitable for connection and focus, with multiple breakout spots, opportunities for intentional collaboration, and quiet work zones.
Companies should also harness the power of hybrid working, perhaps using work-from-home days for deep work, with a “no meetings” rule, and office days booked in person for collaborative work and catch-ups.
The next six months will undoubtedly be a period of trial and error for many companies as they seek to encourage workers to return to the office. Following the simple rules: “ask, don’t assume” and “keep it fair” can go a long way toward ensuring that the return to the office is helpful for both employees and organizations.
Gaynor Parkin and Dr. Amanda Wallis of Umbrella Wellbeing contributed to this article.
This article by Dougal Sutherland, Clinical Psychologist, Te Herenga Waka, Victoria University of Wellington, is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
