Two years into the pandemic, companies are slowly calling their workers back into offices, and the resistance is insane. After months of working in the comfort of their homes and in their pajamas, it will surely be pretty hard to convince staff to report back to work. Not to mention the possible health risks that come with it. Without a doubt, the return-to-office is difficult and scary for many.
Managers should have a failsafe return to office strategy to successfully transition to in-office work. That said, it’s crucial to know each employee’s unique situation to make the transition plan work.
Have a check-in with staff
Before planning to send your return-to-office memo, try to gauge the team’s attitude towards the plan. Your employees, after all, are human. For instance, they have different experiences during the pandemic. Life changes, health concerns, and other factors may affect how they view the return.
If you don’t find the pulse of your staff on the subject, it could spell disaster for you. Reactions may range from a peaceful transition to hostility over being forced to return to the office.
To ensure that you are caring for the well-being of your staff, conduct a survey to know their take on the subject. For those who aren’t keen on returning to the office, try to dig deeper into their situation. Is it related to logistics, or is there a bigger, underlying reason behind their hesitance? While others may actually prefer the office setup, it’s best to get all the perspectives in the room before making any big decisions.
Why should they come to work again?
After gauging the attitude and opinions of the staff, it might be time for you to lay down the plans to return to the office after COVID. But first, you have to make the return-to-office setup appealing and worth it.
Working in the office, after all, will involve heightened risks to contract the virus. Even with jabs and booster shots, certain people, especially the immunocompromised, can catch the virus at work. When health is of great concern, if you do not show compassion and sympathy for the staff, it’s going to be hard to negotiate a good return-to-office scheme.
To fully encourage your people to come to your office, make sure you allow flexibility in their work and schedules. Think incentives, possible hazard pays, segmented office spaces for social distancing, and other health protocols.
Stick to your goals, but be flexible
Finally, even if you try to understand the needs of your staff, there will always be some people who will not budge. But instead of forcing them with heavy-handed comments or snide remarks, try to make a compromise for a win-win scenario for everyone.
To make the return-to-office scheme a success, focus on the benefits and how returning to the office could be good for the team’s well-being. For example, you can make the return-to-office scheme more palatable by having your active supporting staff share their experiences on-site. Doing so can help ease other team members into the transition.
At present, it’s still unclear if all industries will return back to the way they were pre-pandemic. After all, a lot of firms have also seen the benefits of work-from-home credits. The key is to be flexible with goals and adjust as needed.
Prioritize your people
Some have become converts to the work-from-home setup, but you can always show your commitment to employee well-being. Pushing people to return on-site may not be the best idea as it can strain the relationship between the firm and staff. Sometimes, the best plan return-to-the-office plan is to let people do their own thing. That is, as long as they do their job smoothly.
