Office comeback: Why leaders need to rethink the office space

This article was originally written for and published in CEOWorld Magazine.

From 2020 to 2022, employers and employees embraced remote work, and many have argued that they’ve worked just as, if not more productively than at the office. However, fast forward to 2023, during the post-pandemic era; recent studies show that while employees feel they’re just as, or more productive at home, this may not always be the case. For instance, a study by Stanford’s Institute for Economic Policy and Research shows that productivity dropped by 10–20 percent in the case of fully remote workers, citing the lack of in-office collaboration and less effective communication as the causes. 

While this may be the case for some remote workers, and depends on the industry, employees continue to fight back after recent calls to the office – including from big companies such as Google, Meta and even, ironically, Zoom – has been fully ignited. Although leaders may want their employees back in the office full-time, employees are still adamant to retain the freedom of working from home. So, this begs the question: how can employers call back their employees and create a pleasant in-office experience in a post-pandemic workplace? Here are three key tips that leaders should keep top-of-mind. 

Create a successful hybrid work model

With newer tensions in the workplace and companies experiencing a talent shortage, it’s more important than ever to keep employee morale high. Instead of approaching the office as to why you, the employer, want your employees back in the office, it’s important to keep the employee in mind and ask, “what can we do to make employees want to come back to work in the office?”.  

First, highlight the benefits offered to employees working in the office. There is no value to being in the office if they are simply coming in to hunker down at their desks, so there should be a tangible benefit for employees to be there. For example, being at the office gives employees the ability to participate in valuable in-office training and coaching sessions, which focuses on effective career development. Another benefit that in-person office experiences offer is improved professional relationships with colleagues, which means less video meetings and, in fact, a hard stop on when their workday ends. Many remote employees find their workday stretches beyond normal office hours, so working in the office provides a clearer start and end point to the day.  

Once the benefits are established, it’s important to communicate to your employees about these benefits and how you’ll approach these moving forward. Always give employees the opportunity to provide feedback and ideas so they become part of the solution.

Revamp the workplace culture 

After years of virtual connections, effort needs to be made to enhance personal connections between employees. To do this, involve employees in the decision-making and let them propose and organize events that can bring their teams together. Make sure to include some light-hearted, fun activities such as setting up sports teams, monthly book clubs, fundraising drives and volunteer days or happy hour, which can start before the actual workday ends. Create engagement opportunities, such as group projects or internal committees to keep employees connected and work on things that don’t pertain to their day-to-day tasks.

The enhancement of leadership training

Leaders have had a difficult time of late – remotely supervising, motivating, and coaching their teams. Often they are running meetings with some people on-site and some participating remotely. Leading remote or hybrid teams requires better and more intentional communication.  Set clear expectations regarding frequency and behaviour during virtual meetings. Keep employees engaged by conducting one on one meetings and provide different ways for them to connect with you and each other, such as virtual coffee chats. Show understanding and gratitude.  

This past year we’ve already seen many workplace trends go viral on social media, such as “bare minimum Mondays”, “resenteeism”, and most prominently “quiet quitting”. These trends may not be going anywhere anytime soon, and as younger generations enter the workplace post-pandemic, it’s important to remember that they haven’t had the benefits of working in the office and therefore don’t know what they are missing. This is the time for leaders to focus on and re-examine the current workplace culture and structure to ensure a positive environment for current and future employees.

This Ontario CEO told her employees they can work from anywhere. Here's how the policy works - Interview in CTV News

This article was originally published in CTV News.

Co-founder and CEO of Toronto estate management agency Willful, Erin Bury has announced that Willful has given their employees a ‘Work from Anywhere’ policy.

By summer 2021, vaccines were rolling out to the general public and there appeared to be a break between COVID-19 waves, so Bury once again opened her office up to employees by choice – but no one came, she says.

By that time, many employees had moved farther away from the office, or had adjusted to the routine of working from home. Bury says this realization, paired with employee feedback, prompted her and her husband to get rid of the space, take their company of just about 20 employees permanently remote, and implement a ‘Work from Anywhere’ policy.

The policy states employees can work from anywhere, and, as long as they are available from the 'core hours' of 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. EST, they can put whatever additional hours in they like.

Janet Candido, founder and CEO of Toronto-based human resources consultancy group Candido Consulting, says many companies are opting for a hybrid model right now, where employees work from home some days, and attend in-person others.

“Some people have developed a comfort level working from home, some are afraid of getting sick,” Candido told CTV News Toronto Wednesday. “Some have school-aged children, who can't go in one day because they have the sniffles… or immunocompromised people at home.”

“People are dealing with all sorts of different challenges. It's not that cut and dry.”

But no matter what policy companies choose, Candido says the successful companies tend to be the ones that provide more flexibility and listen to employee feedback.

“I always recommend when companies want to bring employees back to the office to consider the emotional and mental health of the employees."

Advantages and tips to implementing a hybrid work model

According to a new study from Microsoft, the wave of remote work caused by the pandemic is leading to a bigger – and more permanent – disruption to the workplace: hybrid working. This means that some employees may work from home while others go to the office, or a mix of both.

However, business leaders may be ill prepared to deal with this, from employees with a lack of home office supplies to unreliable internet connections. And, while productivity of working from home is high, so is employee exhaustion – with many feeling overworked and lacking a work-life balance. A number of employees are reportedly considering leaving their employer sometime this year -- a feat made easier with the abundance of remote working possibilities. This is supported by another study, by Robert Half, which found that one in three employees would consider quitting if they are required to return to the office full time. 

But in order for a hybrid workforce to work well, the normal structure of the workplace needs to be updated. As offices in Canada prepare to reopen now that vaccinations are underway, what do employers and employees need to consider as they shift to the new workplace model? 

Be Flexible: There is no single policy or plan that would likely fit all the circumstances of the hybrid work model, so ensuring a flexible work environment will promote productivity and help maintain a work-life balance. For example, some people may be strictly in-office, others strictly at home, and some a mix of both. Some may also put in time before or after typical 9-5 hours, so acknowledging that but still keeping emails and texts to within typical office hours will help prevent burnout. The time to experiment with a range of solutions is now. 

Create New Norms: When part of the team isn’t in the office, it’s important to create new norms that are beneficial to both onsite and offsite teams. For example, in an office setting, if there’s a team meeting, everyone gathers in a conference room and bounces ideas off of each other or updates colleagues on their part of a group project. As a new norm, group meetings that include off-site employees should be conducted as if everyone is working from home, where onsite employees connect from their desks. This allows offsite employees to better hear and see their in-office colleagues and can help those working remotely to feel more comfortable participating.

Maintain Social Connections: Studies throughout the pandemic have shown that those who are able to maintain connections to their colleagues are more productive now than ever before. Encouraging colleagues to keep in touch, even about matters not related to work, is important. Setting aside time before or after meetings for colleagues to catch-up, setting up casual group chats via text or organizing regular video lunches are all ways that employees can maintain contact with one another.

Once a hybrid workforce has been established, there are a variety of benefits that everyone can take advantage of: 

• Freedom and flexibility of where and when to work. And with that autonomy, employees have an increased satisfaction of the job

• With less employees in the office, costs of overhead are reduced as employers find themselves needing to rent less office space to accommodate the in-office workers

• Since those who work best in the office can be in an office, and those who work most effectively at home can work from home, there’s increased productivity 

• A better work-life balance as a result of the hybrid model also encourages increased productivity, as it promotes mental wellbeing, prevents burnout and minimizes stress

COVID-19 has provided a stage for change to how the world works, and by implementing a hybrid work model now, you’re setting your business – and employees – up for success in the future.