Use Company Culture to Encourage Employees Back to the Workplace

The back-to-the-office tug of war started soon after the pandemic began to wind down. At first, safety was the primary reason behind people’s reluctance to return to the workplace. But as the health crisis subsided, many were still against resuming old work patterns, confounding their employers. As a result, some organizations issued mandates for their people to return to the workplace full-time.

These requirements backfired in many cases as numerous employees grudgingly came back with chips on their shoulders or left to find more flexible jobs. As business leaders intent on maintaining an onsite staff continue to look for solutions, one thing is clear. The work format that spelled success in 2019 is dead.

Why Workers Don’t Want to Come Back

Workers have a litany of reasons for not wanting to return to onsite jobs five days a week. Flexibility loss is at the top of their lists. Multiple studies show that most people experienced a priorities reset during the pandemic.

For example, Gartner’s research shows that almost two-thirds of workers say the crisis made them view how their jobs fit into their lives in a different light. Once former commuters got a taste for having more leeway and time in their schedules to perfect a work-life balance, many couldn’t envision giving them up.

In addition, a majority of remote workers contend that they are just as, or even more, productive as when they used to commute to work. And research backs up their claim—whether their bosses are convinced or not. These workers don’t see the point of transporting themselves daily to a location to do the same tasks they can accomplish in their home offices.

Many forced to return to in-person work feel their employers don’t trust them to manage their time and tasks without supervision. Unsurprisingly, they resent returning to a workplace that now seems restrictive.

And there is a darker side to going back into the office every day. A contingent of workers never completely felt comfortable there. Many women, people of color, and those in other marginalized groups often feel freer to be their authentic selves when they don’t have to go someplace and fit into a culture tailored to a narrow demographic.

The Upside of Working In Person

With all the negative perceptions about going back to work in person, what benefits can employers tout to make steadfast remote workers want to return? The core upside they can point to is human interaction that can only occur when collaborating in the same environment. Spontaneity, creativity, and enthusiasm come more naturally when people work under the same roof.

In addition, it’s easier to form stronger relationships when working face-to-face. Many people cite their work friendships and bonds as primary reasons behind their job satisfaction. Workers who never meet in person have a harder time solidifying these relationships. Their quasi-isolation can decrease employee engagement and even contribute to the loneliness many remote workers experience. Working together in person can simply be a lot more fun.

Another plus for onsite work is having readily available coworkers to act as mentors and sounding boards. It’s far easier and less cumbersome to ask for feedback or advice in person than through software.

And proximity gives most onsite workers more access to supervisors, managers, and other leadership. They can observe and learn from them more naturally and regularly, develop career pathways more easily, and are more likely to learn about the organization in-depth than if they were working from home. This proximity is especially valuable for younger workers at the outset of their careers.

Leveraging Workplace Culture for a Win-win Solution

As workers weigh the pros and cons of onsite work, Microsoft Executive VP Chris Capossela advises leaders to focus on one thing in their back-to-the-office initiatives: reconnecting employees. In an article for Harvard Business Review, he points to his company’s research showing that 73 percent of employees need better rationale than just company expectations to switch back to working in person. He asks,

“So the question becomes, what is a compelling reason to come into the office? It’s simple: people care about people.”

Capossela lists statistics that show the ability to rebuild team bonds and socialize with coworkers would motivate employees to work on site at least part of the week. He explains,

“With roughly half of [remote] employees saying their relationships outside their immediate work group have weakened and over 40 percent reporting that they feel disconnected from their company as a whole, ensuring people have an opportunity to reconnect will be crucial in the year ahead. And let’s not forget the huge cohort of people who started or changed jobs during the pandemic shutdown. For them, every face is new.”

Leaders wanting to revive an onsite workforce should leverage the office to increase their employee value proposition. Capossela elaborates:

“Social capital isn’t a nice-to-have; it’s crucial so that employees can do their best work and organizations can keep innovating. So setting the stage for meaningful connection at all levels should be at the core of every organization’s RTO (return-to-office) plans.”

Capossela recommends that organizations demonstrate to employees that their RTO plans aren’t arbitrary power plays. He lists three ways leaders can show they prioritize interpersonal connections in their workplace culture.

1. Strip away busywork.

Some leaders may perceive that allowing these informal interactions could detract from people’s productivity. But Capossela disagrees and maintains that they’re crucial to bolster innovation and psychological safety, elements that lead to higher morale and less turnover.

To ensure people have time to get things done, he also recommends eliminating unnecessary meetings, initiating meeting-free days, and encouraging employees to schedule and protect focus time. The ability to enjoy and reinforce personal connections in an environment that supports productivity will appeal to telecommuters stuck in front of a Zoom screen in their home offices.

2. Create new in-person rituals.

• Quarterly “team weeks” that unite local and remote staff in person for a workshop series
• Including intentional in-person connection time when onboarding new staff
• Creating focused networking events, particularly for younger people launching careers

Leaders should be creative and consider different and meaningful opportunities to connect face-to-face in their organizations. The more they leverage the in-person work experience, the more successful they will be in making people want to come back to the workplace.

3. Do everything with authenticity.

“As a leader, I’m always asking myself how I can create a culture and work environment where every employee feels safe to connect on a deeper level, beyond transactional relationships.”

This effort is important to all workers but is especially meaningful to marginalized employees who can find in-person work intimidating. Leaders can bring more people back to the fold by cementing a culture rooted in respect and inclusion.

Factoring in Flexibility

Regardless of how appealing RTO propositions are, the reality for many workers is that a nine-to-five, in-office job makes their lives harder to manage. Many people prefer remote work because it allows them to handle personal responsibilities more easily, like caring for children, elders, and pets. They are no longer willing to sacrifice the flexibility they need to maintain a work-life balance.

In an article for Forbes, Rhett Power, CEO of Accountability Inc., maintains that folding flexibility into onsite work is the key to making this format successful. Leaders may want to enable people to split their time between in-person and remote work. But he points out that flexibility doesn’t necessarily mean people spending part of the week performing their jobs from home.

“Flexibility can mean coming into the office at 10 a.m. and leaving at 7 p.m. or working four ten-hour days instead of a more traditional schedule.”

Working with employees to devise appropriate hours ties back into the perspective today’s leaders must adopt to build an engaged and productive onsite team. It boils down to relating to their staff on a more personal level, giving them opportunities to develop meaningful professional relationships, and forming a culture that empowers them to thrive in the workplace.