How does friendship at work impact return to office?

It’s no secret that many companies are trying – and struggling – to get employees to return to the office for in-person work time.

Many companies have return to office (RTO) mandates, which tend to be effective at getting people to come in but also drive employees away longer term. For companies with an RTO mandate, 42% saw noticeably higher turnover [1] and research has found statistically significant decreases in employee satisfaction and perception of their employer [4]. Sometimes, the result is bad for everyone: after already breaking employee trust, the company then retracts the RTO mandate and leaves everyone dissatisfied [2].

So how can companies get employees to come in, without creating a morale problem?

We think it’s simpler than mandates and minimum badge-in requirements: make people want to come back in.

A great way to do that is by helping folks make better connections with their coworkers [2]. In fact, employees are more interested in going into the office to see their friends than to make an impression on their managers [3].

Understandably, though, for employees and for HR it feels like a chicken and egg situation: how do we make new friends at work if no one is coming into the office?

That’s where tools like Thred can help: by building new connections – in any mix of online, offline, or hybrid – we can start the momentum of a socially connected office. By facilitating introductions and helping to build new friendships for each employee, we give everyone a better reason to come in and meet up. Since the friendships are based on shared interests, there's a personal and intrinsic desire to meet up with colleagues for lunch to talk about what they have in common.

We think there are real ways to make RTO a success while simultaneously helping your employees work happier. Do you feel the same?