Remote Working
28 Dec 2022
There’s no doubt that remote working has brought many advantages to a large number of people.
The chance to work from home has given people the opportunity to develop their work/life balance, take more responsibility for their work, be flexible and cut down on commuting amongst other things.
It’s no wonder a good many staff have been reluctant to return to the office full time in the wake of the pandemic – and that many have adopted the hybrid option of working part of the week at home and part with their colleagues.
But working from home also comes with considerable drawbacks.
Many people find the experience of working from home all day an isolating one.
Once the pandemic struck, gone was the face-to-face interaction and communications of the office, to be replaced by a slightly impersonal and cold schedule of Zoom, Teams and sundry other online meetings.
Whilst it was nice to stay in touch with your colleagues, few would claim these meetings were any real substitute to getting together in person. The lack of social cues, self-conscious element of being on video and the sheer volume of the number of meetings made them a difficult experience for many.
That being said, employers now face the process of reintegrating staff into the physical workplace – even if only on a hybrid basis – and rebuilding the communal aspect of working in teams.
We’ve already seen some of the consequences of getting this wrong. Staff at Twitter have voted with their feet when given an ultimatum to return to work by new boss Elon Musk, who’s approach to HR resembles the archetypal bull in the china shop.
The great resignation has seen millions of people around the world quit their jobs rather than go back to the 9-5 working life they knew before the pandemic, helping in part spark the recruitment crisis which has made skilled workers harder and harder to come by in recent months.
So there are plenty of reasons for employers to get things right when it comes to welcoming staff back to the office – and plenty of ways they can ensure that the transition is as smooth and rewarding as possible for all parties.
Start by thinking about your dress code. Do staff really need to wear a collar and tie at all times? They have been used to working in anything they happened to have handy whilst at home, so being overly prescriptive about what they need to wear in the office could be a big disincentive to return.
And it’s also a good idea to re-introduce staff to the office gently – and be as flexible as possible as they start to find their feet in the office environment again. If there is a way of introducing a social element to work – a drop in session or team chat – try to take it. This element of being at work is something that remote workers have missed in recent months and they are likely to welcome the opportunity.
Try not to make the return to work a ‘big bang’ event – with staff working remotely one day and being tied to their office desk the next. Introduce people back in stages and keep the option to work on a hybrid basis for as long as it is appropriate.
Communications will be crucial in helping staff make a successful transition too. Clear, straightforward messages about what is happening, when and why will help staff buy in to the return to the office and ease some of the anxieties they may have around the move. And if you are starting to bring people back into the office, make sure you give them plenty of warning so nothing comes as a shock to them and they don’t feel the whole process has been rushed.
It’s also a good idea to arrange a gesture of some kind or another – sending out for lunch, for example – which just underlines how much you regard your team and how good it is to have them back.
If you are struggling bringing staff back to work – or have any other HR issue – we are here to help. Just press the button to arrange your free consultation and we’ll do the rest.
