While CEOs argue a full return to office for their staff to 5 days a week is good for collaboration and productivity, many believe that the drive is not so much about this, than it is about control.
It’s a hot topic and one that is quite emotionally charged. It definitely needs to be unpacked, as it is not desirable to have a workforce full of disgruntled, resentful employees who feel stressed out, unheard and undervalued.
It could be argued that the pre-pandemic work model was quite reassuring to managers after all; with everyone in the office every day, there was greater visibility over where everyone was, what everyone was doing, how productive everyone was simply by seeing them sitting at their desks.
Leaders could keep their fingers on the pulse and had a better gauge on productivity by merely looking or walking around the office. While this seems wildly simplified, we can’t ignore the growing resistance from employees who don’t want to give up the flexibility WFH and hybrid work models have allowed them. And there seems to be a lot more chatter around the real motivation to get them back to the traditional centralised office work model, despite our advancements in technology and the obvious ability to perform our jobs perfectly well, remotely.
There’s no doubt that there are immense benefits for getting people together. Many leaders genuinely appreciate the value of in-person collaboration, brainstorming and spontaneous conversations that are very difficult to engineer in a remote workplace. But there are also a number of managers who might be grappling with a deeper issue; they struggle to trust that people working from home are as productive as those who are visibly busy at their office desks. In these instances, it’s understandable that the argument could be made that it is a fear of a lack of control driving the push to return all staff back to the office.
In some cases, this distrust may stem from a failure to define what true performance looks like.
For years, many leaders have relied on old-school, surface-level indicators of productivity; how fast someone was typing or how stressed they appeared during meetings. Now that they can’t witness these behaviours every work day, they’re left unsure of whether work is actually getting done. How do they know their employee isn’t sitting on the couch watching Netflix movie marathons while half-heartedly working?
We have created a power struggle
We are used to the great flexibility that working remotely has come to afford us. We have been able to build our lives around our work, not the other way around. Without long commutes and being far away from home and family, we are arguably more productive, which makes it even more difficult for many people who feel they have this whole WFH or hybrid work model mastered.
Many people have been able to re-enter the workforce who otherwise could not. We want women with children to return to work and many have now been able to – due to the flexibility of being able to work from home, have no time wasted commuting to and from work, be close to their kids’ schools, be home when their children get home so as to eliminate the need for childcare etc. Amongst certain groups, there is a rising panic around how they are going to adjust their lives and schedules in order to accommodate a full return to the office.
It’s no wonder for many, a full return to the office can feel overwhelming. Coupled with this is the rise in cost of living and the need for many of these people to have to keep full time employment and it’s easy to understand the rising anxiety and resistance to a full return to office.
For many, the flexibility of remote or hybrid work models is not just about convenience—it’s crucial to maintaining a balance between work and personal responsibilities.
Employers need to move forward to empathy
As leaders push for a return to the office, management needs to recognise the magnitude of what they’re asking employees to sacrifice. While there may be valid reasons to bring people back to the office at least part-time, it’s important to acknowledge that for some, this change feels like a significant step backward.
Understanding these concerns and showing empathy toward employees’ needs can help bridge the gap between management’s desire for control and employees’ need for flexibility.
Where do you stand on the push to have a full return to office? Could you do with my help? I’d love to hear from you. Please get in touch today.