What is the current situation regarding a return to office mandate?
The work-from-home phenomenon that began during COVID-19 lockdowns shifted into hybrid opportunities for many employees in subsequent years. Recently, some employers have started mandating a full return to the office for many workers and received some resistance. Employers argue that returning to the office will boost productivity, build team collaboration, and provide mentorship opportunities for younger employees. Some employees say returning to the office will cost them time and money commuting and negatively affect their mental and physical wellbeing.
Related: Return-to-Office Resistance? Here’s How to Overcome It
The pros of a full return to office mandate
There are several reasons why employers prefer to have employees in the office. Here are a few reasons to consider:
Onsite collaboration
Returning to the office means coworkers will share the same physical space. Showing up in person can increase employee engagement and collaboration, which helps develop work relationships and a sense of community. While virtual meetings can be an effective form of communication, in-person meetings often build better camaraderie and can help drive business output.
Read more: How to Create a Collaborative Coworking Space?
Better work-life balance
Returning to the office may help employees achieve a better work-life balance by physically separating the two worlds. Employees can focus on work when in the office and focus on their home lives once they leave. Depending on your company’s policies, onsite work can also include running errands at lunch or leaving the office early if required for an appointment, helping to encourage more balance for employees.
Related: Employee Benefit Program: A Guide to Work-Life Balance
Employee recognition
Employees who come in regularly to the office and get more face-to-face time with their managers are more likely to be noticed and recognized than those not in the office. Employees who are onsite create more opportunities to lead presentations, have impromptu conversations, and spend more time in front of your management team.
Drives productivity
While technology has made it easier to communicate virtually and use real-time documentation to collaborate, spending time in person can be more effective. This interaction can lead to brainstorming sessions, asking questions on the fly, or stopping by a coworker’s desk for a quick chat. In-person teams often have more informal discussions, get to know each other better, and feel more comfortable initiating a discussion. Managers may feel they are better able to connect with their employees when they see them every day in the office.
The cons of a full return to office mandate
There are some negative aspects to a full return to work for both employers and employees. Here are some reasons to consider before mandating a full return to the office:
Turnover
Employers enforcing strict policies about returning to the office may drive away high performers, especially those who value flexibility. It may also convey that management does not trust their employees to be productive at home, which can erode loyalty and reduce morale. Turnover can be costly for employers and also affect morale throughout the company. Return-to-office policies can also make it harder to attract talent by deterring candidates who need schedule flexibility and work-life balance.
Related: If Your Employees Are Happy, They’ll Likely Stay, and Here’s Why
Employee commutes
Commuting is an inevitable part of returning to the office. For many employees, remote work saves them time and money each year. Although companies cannot eliminate the need to commute, employers can take a few steps to make the commute easier for their employees. Here are some ideas to consider:
- Offer flexibility for arrival and departure times so employees can avoid rush-hour traffic.
- Add commuting stipends to help with the added cost of returning to the office.
- Offer onsite benefits for returning to the office, like catered lunches, snacks, and other amenities.
Distractions
Some employees are more productive at home because the office setting is more distracting or less conducive to deep work. To minimize distractions, you can ensure your office layout has ample spaces for collaborative meetings and quiet zones for heads-down work. You can also encourage your departments to schedule meeting-free days to allow for focused work.
Exposure to illnesses
One of the advantages of remote work was minimizing the employees’ exposure to illnesses in the office. Prior to the pandemic, it was more common for sick employees to go to work to avoid missing deadlines, losing pay, or falling behind. To ease employee concerns, consider increasing your paid sick days each year and encourage unwell employees to stay home and join meetings remotely. Employees often show up for work unwell if they feel pressure not to take time off. This issue can be addressed by changing the company culture to encourage unwell employees to stay home.
What the numbers say about location flexibility
According to Statistics Canada, only 4% of Canadians worked remotely in 2016. By 2021, approximately 30% had switched to remote work. Some industries, like finance, insurance, and professional services, saw remote work reach 70%.
While this number began to balance out over the next two years, 13% of Canadian job postings on Indeed mentioned some form of remote or hybrid work. This location flexibility has become more common in attracting job seekers. Canadians employed at companies offering remote or hybrid work are willing to be part-time in the office as long as they are given flexibility to negotiate the terms. Indeed job postings suggest that some form of location flexibility will remain prominent because of its benefits for candidate recruitment.
Read more: Should You Bring Your Team Back to the Office? Here’s What the Data Says
Offering alternatives to a full return to office
While many employers may favour a full return to office, many job postings continue to offer some form of remote work, at least part of the time. Whether a company offers remote or hybrid options depends on the industry, with most location-flexible jobs being provided in tech, finance, marketing, legal services, and other knowledge work positions. Location flexibility can take the form of hybrid work and typically falls into one of three categories:
- Office first with some remote: Employees are in the office most days but can work remotely part of the time.
- Remote first with an office: The office footprint is reduced and is no longer the primary workplace. Employers may still host in-person meetings, events, and team collaboration.
- Remote first with limited or no office: The employer has a significantly reduced office location or no longer maintains dedicated office space. Employees primarily work remotely, and the employer may rent space for company meetings or events.
Related: Finding the Balance: Assessing Which Hybrid Working Model Fits Your Organization
A return to work may be in effect for some companies, but others are still debating the pros and cons of having a completely in-office staff. Considering the alternatives, advantages, and disadvantages of returning to work can help employers navigate this challenging time.
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