We are about to see many companies ask their teams to start planning for the return to the office.
Some large banks and institutions have already asked for their teams to be back in the office full time. In many businesses, a return to the office is something many teams are dreading and have had many personal changes since March 2020.
There is a high percentage of anxious people who have fear about returning to the office or actually want to stay working at home or move to a flexible and the next normal, the hybrid office (our free hybrid office ebook is a must-read).
It is now time for businesses to become flexible and ensure work works for everyone and more flexibly.
If you are anxious or feeling concerned about this, there are a number of steps you (as an employee) can take & questions to ask.
Managers and senior leaders will have concerns and be nervous, particularly with the extra responsibility they would have had to take on and now understand how they manage a team in a hybrid set up.
At Focus as we are on a mission to fix the broken world of work, it is essential we break our recommendations down for both leaders of a business and the staff members who may be nervous and have anxiety about returning to the office and how to get the best for both parties.
| For Leaders | For Staff |
| Have a detailed plan to share for the return to the office plan | If you have not received a plan, ask for the work in progress plan and timeline of when you are likely to have to return |
| Demonstrate with imagery and videos of how the office has been amended to include more space and how you are limiting the attendance in the office. Include capacity numbers and links to the software you will be using for booking in and booking to work remotely | Ask how the business has taken the steps to make the office have more space, more distance and more protection, alongside how to liaise with your manager to enable remote work |
| Have a dedicated HR stream for those who require more specific requests or have had their commitments change or been impacted by COVID | Liaise directly with HR on how they are going to support you in your personal situation, especially if you have been disconnected from your manager or team |
| Prepare to offer a dedicated long term mental health and mental wellbeing helpline(s) and support groups | Ask for details of mental wellbeing support being offered by your firm. If this is not yet an option ask HR how you could go about claiming sessions back until there is a formal policy |
| Have one policy for why certain people or teams are returning to the office | Ask for the workings out around the staggered return to the office policy and why you and your team need to return |
| Show how you have invested and improved the technology set up, more connective equipment, better audio and more camera’s to connect in the hybrid office. The office as an arena is an important concept to consider and share internally. | Ask questions to understand the steps taken to improve technology to help remote and in-office teams to be one team, not have an a team (in office team) & b team (those working remotely) |
| Set up regular Q&A sessions to keep teams up to date with changes and reduce stress | Keep a track of important follow-up milestones and questions and ask for regular updates from the management team |
| Show the hybrid guidelines and the principles for communications and how to be successful in the new hybrid office. Have principles around informing colleagues that you will be in the office or working remotely | Ask to understand if there is a way to book in and out of the office and software. Many software still do not talk to each other have an agreed status on instant messenger tools to enable colleagues to know you will be in or out of the office Ask if there are a minimum or maximum you can work from home or work from the office |
| Have a decision document to show how decision were made and offer transparency to discuss through | Ask questions at the decision level and ask questions to calm down your fears. If you are a people manager look to collate questions from the team and answer with fellow decision-makers |
| Offer back to the office training sessions online before the return to the office. Many system and processes will have changed and it is important to align everyone | Ask what has changed and what are the requirements for training sessions. How long they will be and the benefit of these sessions. Online training and online zoom sessions have caused fatigue, explaining the why is really important here |
| Reduce anxiety by having a traffic light system of those who have reservations or commitments and treat as a way to help manage anxiety and flow into the office. | Ask what the requirements are for: – Red (highly concerned). Requires one to one discussions. Will require a personalised run-through of the amendments, the process that will be followed and discussions with the department lead to reduce fears and consider how highly anxious people can return in the near future. – Amber (concerned), what would the requirements be and how can your manager or department lead (alongside HR) help to reduce any concerns – Green (ready to return) |
Best of luck with your return to the office plan. Happily get in touch directly if you need consultancy.
Important Related Reads