M
Mandate. It’s become a four-letter word these days. To employees, it’s a word that evokes feelings of confinement and a loss of autonomy.
Lately I’ve heard business leaders swap out the word mandate for magnetize.
“You need to magnetize people back to the office, not mandate them back.” While I don’t necessarily love that language, I do agree with the sentiment. You need to inspire employees to come into the office and give them a reason to be there. You can’t force them or bribe them with free Crumbl cookies (although admittedly, that’s a bribe I’d take).
As an older millennial that highly values autonomy, I actually believe that a more formalized return-to-office policy is important.
You could design an office with a rooftop pool and kickboxing classes taught by Jillian Michaels and still struggle with getting employees to come in. Why? Humans are creatures of habit. Just think back to the beginning of the pandemic. It was a huge adjustment to move to 100% remote work and a lot of people resisted. Fast forward to today and now we’re facing the opposite problem. We’ve gotten used to being at home in athleisure wear, interacting virtually and embracing our inner introvert. It’s comfortable.
At the same time, when you’re working from home 100% of the time, the lines between work/non-work start to blur and it can be lonely. Dr. Jordan Metzl, a sports medicine physician wrote a piece in the New York Times that cited global studies showing increased rates of depression and anxiety during remote work. Metzl states –
“Even if it’s easier, there is a sense of isolation that develops when real, in-person communication is substituted with virtual interaction. EEG studies of the brain found that face-to-face interactions produced stronger and longer-lasting psychological connections than virtual ones.”
I think behavior change is the biggest hurdle. As James Clear talks about in his book, Atomic Habits, human brains are hardwired to take the path of least resistance and to exert the least amount of energy necessary. This makes the adoption of new habits hard. Clear discusses 4 steps to create a new habit loop: cue, craving, response, reward. To start a new work habit loop, maybe the cue of your alarm clock in the morning has you craving coffee. You react by jumping into a routine of showering and getting dressed, then rewarding yourself with a latte. Maybe your next cue is scanning your badge at the office. You can’t wait to tell your work BFF about what happened on White Lotus last night, but you need to get grounded for the day. So, you log into your email for 20 minutes and then reward yourself with a 10-minute session discussing Jennifer Coolidge’s comedic timing. The idea is to start small, stack habits, and it starts to rewire your brain.
I also think it’s a false perception that nobody wants to go into the office. The data shows that’s not true, especially when it comes to younger generations. According to Accenture’s 2022 Future of Work Study, 74% of Gen Z prefers face-to-face communication with their colleagues. They don’t want to be in the office 100%, but they do want a mix of experiences. The office gives younger workers face time with leadership and better access to mentors. It helps them understand social business norms. Also, some younger workers simply may not have a good, dedicated workspace at home. That same Accenture study revealed that –
83% of workers around the globe say hybrid is the preferred model.
So, then what should the policy be? The answer really depends on your business. What I do know is that when organizations have loose policies led by individual departments, you end up with frustrated employees that come into the office only to discover they’re the only one there. A policy with set anchor days gives people clarity and a guaranteed opportunity to connect with others. If you’re going to ask employees to come into the office, the key is to ensure employees understand why a policy is being put in place and it should fit the culture of your organization.
Take the time to understand your employees’ needs. Design your space to support how people are working now in a post-pandemic world. And I’d also say that free, freshly baked, calorie-rich cookies are never a bad idea.
Need help formulating your workplace strategy? Contact Sarah
Accenture https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/consulting/future-work
New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/14/opinion/wfh-return-to-office-health.html
