Return to Office Needs a Rebrand

Photo by Domenico Loia on Unsplash

Something Adam Grant posted this week inspired me to go back to my pile of notes on this topic and choose a direction. Leave it to Adam to cut through the BS and simplify using data (goals). Here’s what he said in response to this new study: 

The comments on that post are all over the place. This topic is polarizing depending on who you ask because as much as we’d like it to be, it’s not one size fits all, and that is what makes it all the more interesting. 

So why is it polarizing? A philosophy behind employee experience at its finest: because at its core, return to office is about how it makes people feel when they reflect about the flexibility of their situation and the work life balance afforded to them.

Remote work vs. office work was one of my favorite topics to research during my Master’s program even before Covid forever changed what we thought possible, and now we have many more layers to peel back.

Let’s start with the word choice of return and all its implications. For some disgruntled employees, it has a connotation of dread if, to them, it means return to a prior experience lacking flexibility; giving up all that glorious work-life balance discovered in an unprecedented (sorry for the triggering word), universally shared WFH era.

As I’m writing this post, I just Googled opposite of progress and what was the first result? Can’t make this up - the word return: 

Yikes. This reiterates Adam’s point - why would any CEO go backwards and expect people to fully return when some companies are proving how progressive hybrid and remote models can actually work well? 

Perhaps it’s because there is opposing research. The Economist published an article called “The working-from-home illusion fades” in the midst of various return to office mandates breaking news back in the summer. They specifically call out tech companies, and how the latest research published in May 2023 “runs counter” to other studies citing increased productivity from the past few years in Covid times.

Now several months into a 3x per week RTO policy where I work, I’ve been thinking a lot about my own experiences as well as the macro level of such a pivotal workforce cultural moment in history. Years passed by us being homebound, where we all lived and worked simultaneously despite varying situations of family life, child care, home set up, and support. I think it’s fascinating how HR experts are becoming thought leaders in this brand new space, and the truth is, it’s not binary.

So in some ways, it’s not surprising why so many companies are missing the mark on RTO in their approach. Return to office needs a rebrand.

Call it hybrid, call it employee-first model, etc. But in order to rebrand successfully, leaders should focus on how we move forward in this new era by building a plan based off these 5 main components that make up the puzzle: 

1. Productivity 

^ Couldn’t resist polling this. Obviously companies care about their bottom line and being as efficient as possible. The data can be puzzling to execs, and some say that what we have is skewed anyway because we haven’t been able to study it without the variables in such a unique time. Some employees feel execs are interpreting the data in whatever is most convenient for their narrative on productivity. I think an approach done well looks like an exec team being open about taking this new landscape as an opportunity to conduct a period of learning and evaluating before making long term decisions. Bonus if they can stay transparent about making mistakes along the way.

2. Human Connection 

We can all think of a time where you met someone in person that was completely different from what you imagined based on your interactions on the screen. Height, mannerisms, even a slight delay to find your normal rhythm because IRL is so different from Zoom. I have personally benefited a ton from getting to connect with my coworkers at the office and take time getting to know them (this kind of small talk is a beautiful thing when both parties mutually understand when the conversation is over, IMO). On the other hand, I also have deeply connected over video with some people across the world that I’ve never met outside the screen. I’d love to confirm if this is research backed, but to me it feels like the Covid era made it equally possible to connect on a human level in person or virtually as long as you make time for it by asking questions and bringing our authentic selves. The bigger argument for RTO might be what you do with that human connection so it translates to results, which brings me to… 

3. Collaboration 

Another area where it depends on intentionality behind how you use time with people, but I will admit this is one area I have been experiencing way more synergy and immediate partnership that comes from in person proximity and wouldn’t have otherwise happened. Partners I work with are steps away and I can walk up to them for a casual chat or ask to grab coffee and it feels so much more efficient than setting up a call, and/or even having to reach out and preview a bunch of context before meeting. Very frequently I’ll have a question answered on the fly when I’m in person and it’s so obvious when it happens how much time it saved us, or better yet I think of a question from a random conversation I wouldn’t have otherwise and it helps me in my project. I don’t think this is applicable to every type of role. There are so many out there where you don’t need as much cross functional partnering to make decisions/ get work done, so in those cases I’d think the sporadic virtual meetings work great. 

4. Trust in Autonomy

Arguably just as important as collaboration, people need heads down time to get their work done. A big part of this is leadership’s trust in letting their employees do that, both how they need to and where they need to. There should be explicit acknowledgement from the top down that employees are trusted and encouraged to take solo time working from the location in which they work best, because they were hired to operate excellently AND autonomously, without needed to be monitored in an office and by micromanagers. I think this type of trust to work at home and manage both your time and location strategically is really important, even if it’s offered 2-3x a week, it needs to be messaged somehow.

5. Worthwhile = Flexibility & Perks

I believe my personal feelings towards RTO are among a small population because our benefits & perks are intentionally rare enough to draw in top talent and beat out competition. When I say I love going into the office, it’s because not only do they make it worthwhile, but it’s also because there is an incredible amount of grace, understanding, and flexibility all built in the structure designed to maximize these components. This Forbes article lists top 2024 companies to work for AND I love how it calls out how Glassdoor’s research found “offering flexible work options such as hybrid or fully remote work” has become one of the most important factors in the ranking. Since 2017 I’ve worked at companies that go above and beyond with curating phenomenal in-office environments, and in my career this level of employee care has become a top priority for me. I think if you’re going to work in the corporate world, you should view benefits and perks as just as critical as compensation. Those in between moments day to day feeling take care of powerfully stack up over time.

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Final thoughts for today

What do you think? Was there a productivity illusion born out of necessity from a deadly virus, is WFH the real deal, or does it remain to be seen as companies evolve in a post Covid world? I’m excited to keep reading about where the trends and research will go from here. 

Most of this post was around the bigger picture on what companies should be thinking about differently, but it’s for individual pondering too. I’m not an exec so I like to think about what is in my hands to control. Wherever you land with RTO - struggling, still undecided, or embracing it- one thing is for sure: it’s a new reality for many of us in the corporate world, navigating to the best of our ability and finding how we make it work in our favor along the way. A few journal prompts on this:

• What makes me feel motivated and demotivated about returning to the office? 

• What’s a realistic routine for getting daily movement and/or sunlight on the days I go in?

• How can I still maximize work-life balance when commute time is added in the mix?

I love hearing from you, whether it’s a comment below or direct response to this email, let me know your thoughts 🙂 and if you’d like to help me reach others, tap the little heart down there at the bottom.

Happy Sunday,

Jess