The office is a product - listen to its users.

Ah, the much fabled ‘return to the office’ - a topic that it seems we’ve spent over a year talking about. Now however, it appears that we are getting closer to that reality. The UK has started to relax restrictions, and across the EU, countries are at different stages of the road back to ‘normal’. 

One topic that has been the subject of much discussion for employees at nearly every organisation has been whether the remote/flexible working model will stick, or if they will be forcibly herded back to the office. For most organisations, the reality is likely to be somewhere in between. 

However, while we can discuss the merits and drawbacks of the office, one thing that I have noticed from a lot of people I have spoken to, is that the working policy will be dictated down to them from above. And that’s where I have a problem.

In most organisations, the WORST possible people to consult on working policy, are the C-Suite. Why? Because whatever the policy looks like, it affects them the least. The executives are, by and large, the best paid and resourced workers in an organisation, and that offers them the privilege of choice. If the organisation goes fully remote, the C-Suite will have the means and opportunity to have a great working environment at home. Fully office based, they have the resource to live and travel in a way that works for them. Any hybrid model sits between these two favourable models. The C-Suite of course are the guardians of business success and the core model, but to make this decision alone leads to false perceptions and huge risks.

For those further down the ladder, the reality is different. An employee that has been given an hour a day extra with their kids, just by virtue of not having a commute, will not happily give that up, and understandably so. The young graduate living in a big city with sky high rents can’t be expected to grow, crammed into a shared apartment without a proper desk, in an environment that is a far cry from a modern professional office. 

It’s these stories, the personal side, that has to be considered when designing the policy. When building products in Agile environments, we speak to our users and gather their stories. The work environment is a product, make no mistake. For organisations that are office based, that have the luxury and privilege of operating away from the world of frontline work, it is critical not to waste that advantage. 

There will be no perfect solution, because everyone is different, and what’s good for the goose is not always good for the gander. But in listening to employees, gathering user stories, and putting systems and tools in place, organisations can create the most benefit. 

If I were interviewing for jobs in the near future (I am very much not, as I’m happy to say that Flix is comfortably the best place I’ve ever worked!), I would be asking about the working policy, and how it was arrived upon, and I encourage you all to do the same. Because it speaks volumes about a business.

It will demonstrate clearly which companies value diversity and inclusion, and which just pay lip service to it. It shows which organisations listen to their employees, and which dictate to them. It shows which organisations have strong leadership that stand by their decisions, and which simply kick the can down the road. 

There’s no one right answer, but the process and interaction are just as important. Good leadership groups understand the business and its people, and have a tough decision to make in order to safeguard the business and do what is right for everyone. By avoiding fallacy and self-reference, they can make a decision that lights a fire under the company for years to come. 

If you want to know what inspired this, it was this tweet from the excellent @shituserstory on Twitter in response to a fantastic example published in the Washington Post of how NOT to handle the return to work. 

What do your user stories look like? I'd love to know your thoughts on an issue that I think everyone has an opinion on, so please drop a comment below because I love that sweet sweet engagement.