Expectations vs Reality: Returning to the office
Whilst various lockdowns have been testing for everyone, they also allowed more freedom and control over your own routine and work day, and it’s crucial to respect everyone’s new ways of working as we get back behind a desk together.
We’ve pulled out a few key ‘expectation versus reality’ moments you might face in the coming weeks, as well as advice on how to tackle them…
Expectation: Your employees and colleagues are desperate to get back to the office and “back to work”
Reality: A huge number of workers in a range of sectors are apprehensive about going back to the workplace and trying to slot seamlessly back into old routines. Flexible working arrangements and working from home has led to positive changes for many families and relationships, as both parents have been able to share the load of childcare, or busy partners have been able to spend more time together as they work from the same space. Easing your workforce back into the office and giving your staff control over when and where they work, even as things return to ‘normal’ will lead to a stronger and more positive culture, as staff maintain the work-life balance they’ve been able to create during lockdown.
It’s also crucial to not confuse “back to the workplace” with “back to work.” Staff have been working throughout the pandemic – the only thing that’s changing is where they do it.
Expectation: Productivity and profits will be up from day one
Reality: Every team will need time to re-establish themselves not only with the office space but with each other. Treat your staff with the patience you’d offer a new starter getting to grips with the business, and they’ll feel comfortable and confidence in easing their way back into an office based 9-5. Just as colleagues being apart from one another hasn’t led to projects and earnings falling off a cliff as a result of distance, being sat together in an office won’t magically translate to instant achievements.
Expectation: Being at home during lockdown means your employees and colleagues are feeling refreshed
Reality: While some of your team will have spent their lack of commute exercising, having a lie in or taking up a hobby, the reality for many others is that the lines between home and office became blurred and they struggled to switch off at the end of the “working day.” For others, childcare provisions will have likely been closed due to restrictions, meaning juggling being a employee and a parent all day, with little time to be themselves without the break of a drink after work or a gossip with teammates over a long lunch. For some, returning to the office will feel like a break from the stress of lockdown, rather than the other way round! So be understanding, be kind, and be mindful of the different experiences of lockdown your workforce may have had.
Expectation: Zoom and Teams are dead – long live face-to-face meetings!
Reality: The flexibility of virtual meetings has meant colleagues from all over the country – and the world, in some cases – have been able to catch up, meet new starters, hold meetings and make important decisions from exactly where they are, rather than having to travel to a central location and spend days or weeks finding space in everyone’s diaries. While we’ve always been against parachuting people into meetings at the last minute with no warning (which has been made much more possible with a quick Zoom invite), removing the need to find a meeting room big enough for everyone, enough clean mugs to make sure everyone’s got a tea or coffee and fighting with the printer to make sure you have enough handouts for each colleague is a huge bonus of virtual meetings. They also mean that colleagues who aren’t yet comfortable enough to return to the office full time don’t miss out on important meetings or updates. Hybrid meetings are here to stay – and we’re all for it!
Expectation: We’re all ready for a 9-5 in a suit and tie
Reality: Slow and steady wins the race! We’re not going to try to convince you to let your staff roll in to the office at five to nine in their sweatpants, but the flexibility of working from home has meant that some would prefer that to having to iron a shirt every morning or step into uncomfortable heels to be perceived as productive and hard working. For a lot of people, their bodies, attitudes and priorities have changed over lockdown, and rigid schedule and dress code just aren’t appropriate anymore to get the best from your team. Consider extending the flexible working arrangements you implemented over the pandemic to the office environment, and relax dress codes slightly as staff reacquaint themselves with their business wardrobe – there’s a lot of wiggle room between formal and flip-flops, so find what works for you and your employees and fill morning routines with ease, not pressure.
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