A rewarding return
Returning to the office is no longer a theoretical conversation for those of us in the “Zoom class.”
Others have the health and safety implications covered, so I’ll address something else: we must ensure returning to the office is a rewarding and engaging experience.
Why bother coming back?
The productivity of remote workers during the pandemic surprised almost everyone.
So why bother returning if we’re so productive from home?
The simple truth: it takes more than productivity to build great accomplishments, careers and companies. Culture, innovation, and connectedness can’t be maximized remotely.
Culture is formed from the sum of our teams’ experiences and interactions. When promising sports teams fail to develop mutual trust, camaraderie, and support among the players, we say they have “clubhouse issues.” Those teams rarely amount to much. Likewise, a corporate culture formed exclusively through two-dimensional, formalized interactions on Microsoft Teams will be fragile and flimsy, stripped of the personal context, experiences, and trust-building that comes from close contact and daily exposure to one another.
Innovation similarly suffers under distance. There’s a pile of research demonstrating that chance interactions spur creativity and innovation. We used to read the room and linger to chat for a few minutes, but now we close out video calls quickly after the agenda’s done. Those of us who have attempted to generate free-flowing ideation on a group call know it pales in comparison to the best in-person innovation sessions.
Connectedness is suffering most during our year at home. I asked my team if they’d like to get together outside of work in a safe way, and virtually everyone cheered the idea. We miss each other. Our people want to be together, and need it to fuel their inspiration and provide an outlet for needs unmet by video chats and wall-to-wall meetings. And people with strong work relationships are, you guessed it, more productive.
There’s a bonus benefit for employees and employers alike:
Balance. Yes, balance. Many folks struggle with work/life boundaries in a work-from-home model, and report working more. 70% now work weekends, and 45% say they work longer hours each week. In other words, that bonus productivity may be coming from overwork, meaning quality will eventually suffer and burnout risk rises. Get people back in the office, within familiar boundaries, and they’ll find it easier to turn in a great day’s work and then go home and leave the rest for tomorrow.
So that’s why we’re coming back: productivity isn’t everything. Say it boldly! Culture, innovation, connectedness, and balance matter. And the longer we stay apart, the more we’ll see those critical underpinnings of great careers and companies erode away.
So how do we get people excited about coming back to the office? It’ll take more than our best intentions.
Making it rewarding and engaging.
As we ask millions of Americans to return to the office, it’s my personal goal that my team members will leave the office each day thinking “I’m really glad I came in today.” Make it your goal to ensure the return-to-office experience is a fundamentally fulfilling and engaging one.
Many companies are returning to work in a hybrid, or blended model. In other words, they’ll require some days in the office, and allow others at home. Here’s how I plan to make the most of this model for the sake of our people and our goals:
Schedule togetherness on in-office days - This means scheduling staff meetings, ideation and innovation workshops, executive reviews, and most 1-on-1 meetings when we can be face-to-face. Being “alone together” isn’t engaging, and will quickly feel like a waste of time for folks missing their 10-second commute from kitchen to laptop. If we create an environment where people sit at their desks for 8 hours a day working independently, we have failed at the goal of maximizing our time together.
Reserve remote time for deep focus - Lead by refusing to schedule group meetings on remote days, intentionally making time for individual deep work or 1-on-1 collaboration. As a leader, structure report-outs and presentations so people can make their final preparations at home away from office interruptions. Consider implementing a no-meetings policy for one of your remote work days. I guarantee you’ll see work quality improve.
Be intentional about in-person activities - At least initially, people will be eager to spend time together upon return. I suspect this trend will continue for awhile, so I’ll be scheduling monthly lunches out with the team, and quarterly social events outside of work. Employers should also look into opportunities for community-building through bringing in group lunches and conducting career development workshops.
Recognize and reintroduce - During the past year, two groups suffered in particularly unfortunate ways: retirees who finished accomplished careers and departed almost unnoticed, and new team members who joined in immediately isolated from the wider team. Take the opportunity to bring back last year’s retirees and give them the sendoff and thanks they deserve. And get aggressive about reintroducing the new folks. Some have been around for more than a year and still feel completely disconnected from their peers and the company mission. Ask them if you don’t believe me.
Replicate amenities that made work-from-home so pleasurable - I’m not talking foosball, I mean the comforts of home. Bring back the good coffee you costed-out three years ago to save $8k. Make beverages and healthy snacks extremely inexpensive or free. Bring in food trucks weekly if you don’t have an on-site cafeteria. Make sure workspaces are comfortable, familiar, and appropriately equipped. And dare I suggest we unblock streaming music services from company wi-fi?
Charging forward
It’s been said “you can’t go home again.” It’s true here: the world we left doesn’t exist anymore. It’s our responsibility as leaders to adapt to the new one and lead our teams in new ways.