Instead of forcing your employees to come back to the office, try this…

After the strict working-from-home guidelines due to Covid, many companies now wonder how to get their employees back into the office. There are many discussions at the moment about different strategies going from simply prohibiting working from home to making finding incentives for coming back to the office.

But before rushing back to old ways, let’s see this as an opportunity to be more adaptive to current working styles and needs from the perspective of the employee.

The first question that needs to be asked is: Why does your staff need to be back in the office?

Does it actually negatively affect performance, teamwork, and sense of belonging, or else?

If no, have a conversation with your staff as to what may serve them best and enable them to do their best work.

If yes, do the same.

Psychological safety and staff engagement can be established and increased even if your staff is working from home. One first step that is crucial to achieving this is to listen closely to your staff’s needs and to act upon the feedback. Open communication and recognition without judgment are your best supporters.

What is important here is to avoid creating resentment towards the company. Make clear that your employees are the center of your heart together with the mission. Take care o them, and they will take care of you (aka the employer).

Forcing employees back after such a long time may create an imbalance in their life and work, and be an additional burden in terms of cost due to the commute and rising cost of living. They may even feel distrusted. These factors can lead to quiet quitting, disengagement, and decreased job satisfaction.

Which, I am certain, is not what any employer is striving for.

So have a chat with your staff about what they need, how they feel supported in coming back to the office if it’s really needed, and equally put emphasis on continuously creating a safe space for folks who may not return. Be willing to experiment and try out different methods coming from your employees rather than following solely a top-down approach.

If you are an employer/employee, what are your thoughts on this? What would you like to try out? How do you prefer to work and what would you say are the pros and cons?

Let’s start a discussion below!

NamaStay happy

JD