Covid-19 completely changed how we live and work. Many people who had never worked from home before began doing so around Spring 2020, and a large number of those are still at their home offices.
A recent U.S. survey found that 56% of working Americans still work remotely either all of the time or most of the time. Importantly, this study also found that the number of workers who want to continue to work remotely has risen over the last month and is predicted to continue rising into the next year.
However, at the same time, things are shifting in the opposite direction for companies and their work-from-home policies.
While the delta variant is making things tricky for companies and causing some delays and disruptions, many are now pushing for their employees to return to the office.
Our favorite tech giant Google has announced that they want their workers back in the office by January 2022. Fellow tech king Apple had previously announced a new policy that would require their workers back in the office for three days a week from September 2021, but this has also been pushed back to January 2022.
It’s looking like a post-Christmas return to the office for many across the States. But many aren’t feeling too excited about this prospect.
So, why don’t people want to return to the office?
There are of course many reasons why people do not want to return to their offices.
Number one being that many simply do not feel safe given the persistently high numbers of Covid-19 cases and low vaccination rates in much of the United States. (Can you blame them?)
Number one being that many simply do not feel safe.
Additionally, many workers have become accustomed to the many freedoms that working from home brings them. Many relish the shorter or non-existent commute times, many have moved farther away from their offices for financial or personal reasons, and many simply find that working from home suits them and their working style better.
Many enjoy having their cat on their lap while they take a Zoom meeting.
For many, it makes total sense.
This delay in workers returning to the office has been dubbed “The Great Wait”, and it is costing employers millions of dollars.
It is also important to note that, despite working from home, U.S. workers are still statistically the most stressed in the world, and some research has drawn links between this and the social isolation that comes with home working.
Ita double-edged sword, and there are campaigners for both sides. Many surveys demonstrate that a larger percentage (74%) of knowledge workers do want to return to the office, at least some of the time.
Many surveys demonstrate that a larger percentage (74%) of knowledge workers do want to return to the office, at least some of the time.
What does the Law have to say?
Before you make any decisions, it’s always key to check what is within legal bounds to implement.
Now, in the United States employers can legally call their employees back to the office even if the workers are concerned otherwise. Under the OSH Act (Occupational Safety and Health Act), workers can only refuse to go back to work due to “unsafety” if these four conditions are met:
Employers also have the right, under Joe Biden’s mandate, to legally enforce a vaccine mandate in companies with over 100 employees. Read our blog about this topic, here.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission does, however, dictate that employers must make reasonable adjustments for employees who are eligible. See “What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws”, here.
So, yes, if you are an employer, you can call your colleagues back to the office.
6 Tips for Dealing with RTO Push-Back
If you do want to do so, here are our 6 top tips for dealing with or preempting the potential push-back.
Be clear and upfront
The first thing to do when calling your employees back to the office is to give them plenty of notice and time to adjust. Be clear about your expectations and about what exactly is coming up for them down the line.
Give everyone the same and consistent message about why you are returning to the office and how you are going to do it as a company.
Give everyone the same and consistent message about why you are returning to the office and how you are going to do it as a company.
When it comes to the “why”, make sure you focus on the benefits of being back in the office together. This will vary depending on your type of work but positive reasons for being back could include company morale, team bonding, social inclusion, fairness, culture, customer-centricity or simply that the type of work you do benefits from being in person.
Try not to get bogged down in people’s reasons for wanting to stay at home and focus instead on what upsides being back in the office will bring for everyone involved.
When it comes to the “how”, you will need to be clear and consistent with your plan on how you are going to bring everyone back to the office safely and effectively. Will it be a hybrid model or a full return? Will it be a phased return or immediate? Whatever the way you are going to do it, keep your messaging clear and honest from the get-go.
Consider safety
Take the time to clearly explain to your employees how your company plans to keep them safe.
Following a pandemic, the primary reason that people will state they are hesitant to come back to the office will be health and safety concerns surrounding Covid.
Explain whether all those coming in will be vaccinated or not, and explain any health & safety measures you will be implementing. High on the list are these critical features of a covid-safe office: modernized ventilation systems, frequent sanitization, contact tracing systems (such as the one offered by Zynq), and physically distanced set-ups.
Critical features of a covid-safe office: modernized ventilation systems, frequent sanitization, contact tracing systems (such as the one offered by Zynq), and physically distanced set-ups.
It is important that you take any government-issued guidelines into consideration and implement any measures you need to before your employees return to a shared office space.
Everyone just wants to feel safe and comfortable in their workplace and that is completely understandable.
Being safe and showing how you are being safe will reduce “return to office anxiety” greatly, and that’s exactly what we’re aiming for here.
Keep company policies in check
Update all company policies and have them available and accessible. Make sure everyone knows their rights but also what company policy will be going forward.
This will be particularly important when it comes to Biden’s vaccine mandate and how it will or won’t affect your workplace.
If you do need to follow the vaccine mandate, the guidelines and protocols will need to be incorporated into your company policies, and these need to be read and understood by each of your employees.
Yes, getting the company policy book out might make the atmosphere a little tense and your employees might get a little bored listening to article two, sub-section B of your Covid policies, but it’s so important.
It’s key to keep everyone on the same page and to keep yourself protected by the law. Heavy stuff, but it’s worth it.
It keeps everyone safe, happy, and unanimous on what’s happening.
Create incentives
Keep the narrative positive and motivating by providing rewards and incentives for those who choose to return to the office.
Office anxiety could be creating a bit of a bad vibe around the whole situation and that’s not what we want.
It’s understandable that those coming back who aren’t sure about it will be tense or worried when they are back in the office, but it’s equally important to fight positively against the sentiment.
You can give yourself and everyone else a bit of a boost by providing some rewards and incentives in-house. These could be pizza days, a one-time commute stipend, free breakfast food in the office, and other small but rewarding treats.
The incentives could also be bigger things such as the approach you take to returning to the office. Instead of throwing everyone back in at once, you could introduce a hybrid system that works on a rota and then allow your employees to pick the days they want to come in.
Instead of throwing everyone back in at once, you could introduce a hybrid system
Where possible, this allows your employees to still feel that they have some control over the work schedule and this will keep them happier and more motivated.
Which, when you add in some free pizza, adds up to a great environment to work in.
Share positive messages from those who have already returned
Again, focus on the positives in returning to the office and keep the messaging hopeful and consistent.
Share positive feedback and messages from those who have already returned to the office and let them encourage their colleagues to follow suit. An internal blog article or sharing RTO pictures on a team / company slack channel should do the trick!
An internal blog article or sharing RTO pictures on a team / company slack channel should do the trick!
Encourage long-term goals and progress rather than “pushing” people back to work. This means showing authentic and genuine journeys of those who may not have been sure at first either but are now re-settled into office working.
Cut down on negative gossip and worried thoughts by promoting long-term happiness and progress in the office.
Embrace technology
Finally, give yourself one less job to do and embrace technology in your return-to-work phase. It will make the return smooth and save your company a huge amount money.
Use office space management tools such as Zynq to promote safe hybrid working and hot-desking options. Keep everything safe, on record, and accessible by providing access to a useful and straightforward tool.
You can manage your desk and room bookings, contact tracing, surveys and data, office controls and access, and scheduling all in one place, making this process easier for everyone involved.
Resistance won’t disappear, but if you proactively manage it from the get-go you can safely and happily have all your employees back in the office in a new and improved way.
