Luring employee back to the office- what will it take?

This week, I write about a meaningful conversation with Dr. Peter Cavanaugh, a workspace expert, about how organizations should think about their employees returning to work from an office rather than continue working from home. Dr. Cavanaugh has led workplace transformation efforts- and is best known for his reimagination of GE's iconic learning facility in Crotonville, just outside New York City. 

Organizations are wrestling with how best to get employees back to the office. Reluctance from employees is obvious due to a complex set of issues, including different vaccination levels, childcare concerns as schools are not yet open in many parts of the world, the virus itself still being a clear and present danger. These are real issues- and often beyond organizational or employee control. If organizations enforce mandates on employees to return to the office, they are likely to face a backlash. 

Dr. Cavanaugh has advice on what the organizations control in this equation- and that is the physical workspace. He says that organizations can no longer rely on the historical model of the office. In the past, the office was the place you went to work. It was an anchor for work and vital professional relationships. As we go more and more hybrid, work gets done where the employee is, not where the office is. Office space, therefore, needs to be reimagined. 

He argues that the current discussion regarding office real estate as 'cost' is the wrong focus. Many organizations are looking at cutting real estate costs given that fewer people will work from an office space. He recommends that organizations, instead of cost savings, approach it as a chance to increase efficiency and effectiveness. Packing employees into 'cube farms,' forcing hot-desking and hoteling depersonalizes the environment and does not provide the right incentive for employees to get back. One study shows that employees lose 86 minutes of productivity every day due to distractions and noise in closely packed cubicles. Hoteling makes you feel like a guest rather than create a sense of belonging you want the employees to feel. 

He also feels that relegating the workplace discussion to the Facilities function creates a narrow and incomplete focus on the debate. He thinks that the things that are the easiest to measure-cost per square foot, # of people to be put in each space- are not necessarily the most important things to measure. They are contributors to the outcomes but not the outcome itself. The fundamental need of the hour is making employees wanting (not being forced) to come to the office. The new office space is likely to be where people come to recharge their sense of purpose and belonging, enhance their relationships with bosses and colleagues, and improve their connections with the culture, values, and beliefs. Work will get done anyway since work is anchored with the person, not at the office- but ensure that only the unique things mentioned above can happen at the office. The office should therefore be a powerful and welcoming experience. In other words, the future of the office space is less work-centric (since work can be done from anywhere) and more employee-centric. 

To make this conversion, Dr. Cavanaugh suggests that the workplace needs reconfiguring using a three 'H' framework:

• The head (what you want people to think).
• The heart (how you want people to feel).
• The hands (what do you want people to do). 

In other words, the workplace should activate the employees' desires and aspirations. And to do this, ask them about their ideal office space, do not assume. For instance, if employees want to break down siloes, operationalize that desire by creating a transparent environment- where the floor plan allows for different functions/ departments to be integrated rather than separated. 

Dr. Cavanaugh suspects that there is a fundamental shift happening in our management model. Workplaces were designed for leaders to exert control, enforce conformity, and optimize for productivity. As we emerge from the pandemic, workplaces should symbolize inclusion, belongingness, unleashing energy, innovation, collaboration, and connection. If so, the workplace needs to be reimagined with those parameters in mind. For instance, a smattering of standing desks, sitting desks, bean bags, and an open personal space (where everyone pins their favorite photos - a common collage) could make the atmosphere more informal yet energetic. How about inspiration spots, concentration spots, coaching spots, fun-event spots, collaborations spots, innovation spots, private spots? And name them to symbolize the 'feel' aspect of the spot- the Newton spot (inspiration), the Marshall Goldsmith spot (coaching guru), Edison spot (innovation). Heck, you can even have venting spots or gossip spots. Keep in mind that space is a crucial aspect of culture. So, the artifacts, the photos, the carpets all matter. In other words, treat the workplace not as a cold, clinical, mechanistic beehive for worker-bees to churn out work, but as an unleashing of your culture- a place that activates it rather than constrains it. 

And finally, a word about safety. According to Dr. Cavanaugh, returning to the workplace will be about both physical safety and emotional safety. The tyranny of the virus is still not over, so masking, PPE, distancing...all are important. Even one person or one thing off the standard COVID safety protocol is a risk. Emotional safety is equally important- to offset the tyranny of the traditional workspace. The new workspace should engender trust, respect, connection, and belonging create an atmosphere of safety. That 'feel' is not going to happen by designing the physical space alone. For that, the culture needs to change. Office space cannot be a soul-crushing experience- it needs to be a soul-energizing experience.

In summary, Dr. Cavanaugh emphasizes that the concept of the physical workplace is not just utilitarian; it is not just functional; it is evocative, it is a symbol of organizational purpose and an embodiment of organizational culture. Space needs to be reimagined and curated for its intention. The employees will come back. Because they want to, not because they must.

Is this how your organization is thinking about a return to office space? 

Dr. Cavanaugh can be contacted at linkedin.com/in/peterfcavanaughedd