People Googled excuses to skip work over 2 million times this year, a nearly 1900% increase from 2020
"Problem-solving leaders have one thing in common: a faith that there's always a better way."
– Gerald M. Weinberg?
The Question
Is your team struggling with returning to the office? Here's how to help:
People Googled excuses to skip work over 2 million times this year amid return-to-office mandates, a nearly 1900% increase from 2020.?(Bloomberg)
As with any pendulum swing, change invites a range of opinions and in this case some divisive camps.
And post the extreme conditions of the pandemic that overwhelmingly had the whole world adapting to WFH*, the resistant camps to RTO** are fuelled by this newly gained status quo.
Regardless of whether your workplace is on the path to RTO or choosing to remain remote for the time being, leaders should be prepared to think of how they can facilitate the graceful transition to a more hybrid or back-in-person model.??
*Work from home
**Return to office
The Research
A study performed by FlexJobs?surveying remote workers during the pandemic came back with a?majority (65%) saying "they want to remain full-time remote workers after the pandemic. Another 33% prefer a hybrid work arrangement, while only 2% say they want to return to the office full-time."
It's no surprise organizations are facing resistance to implementing hybrid plans with clear symptoms of RTO delays and companies continuing to bleed staff to the Great Resignation.
So how can organizations and leaders work to implement a successful hybrid model?
Stanford Professor, Nicholas Bloom, who has been studying remote work since 2004, got to expand his research to answer this question with the pandemic.
His latest paper studying a hybrid model of remote work demonstrated results such as "reduced?attrition rates by 35% and improved work satisfaction, while also finding no significant impact on performance ratings or promotions."?(National Bureau of Economic Research)
Yet many teams struggle to find a stable approach to hybrid work environments. A common concern people face is coming into work to sit for a day of Zoom meetings.
Bloom calls this the "paradox of choice versus coordination". Leaders allow their team members to choose the days they will be in, but in reality, they need to be coordinating the team together to optimize their time in person.
Adam Grant summarized this phenomenon best, "If hybrid means everyone can work from home whenever they want, proximity bias is a problem. Managers reward the people they interact with in person. The coordinated approach -- having everyone in the office on the same days -- can solve the fairness problem that might leave some groups at a disadvantage."
This approach helps relieve pressure to show up every day to demonstrate professional ambition to not miss out on potential work opportunities and instead safeguard flexibility for individuals, standardized across all.
Some Advice
Remember, the value of being in office is the people - less so the space.
For hybrid to work, you need to not only coordinate peoples' in office days, but then help facilitate the reboot of social capital between your team members.
Consider revisiting some team-building activities to help facilitate social bonds and increase collaboration. Don't assume your team members will do this on their own.
Watch this short clip on how team-building retreats can help reset your team and its team dynamics.??
Your Hack
No matter the arguments for and against, before implementing an RTO policy leaders need to also heavily question its purpose and target audience to get it right.
Each unique team has unique needs. To borrow a blatant analogy from the world of sports, team sports need more face-to-face practice, no matter how you spin it. Individual sports on the other hand can have more flexibility to conquer theirs wherever they are.
The RTO strategy needs to reflect these needs respectively.
So this week's hack is to?create an RTO strategy guided by people first.
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Ideally, each RTO strategy should be delegated up to a team's discretion. This helps set up a rhetoric of autonomy and collaboration in order to come up with flexible solutions.
In navigating this as a team here's what you need to consider for your hybrid plan:
This fights presenteeism bias and relieves pressure on team members.
Understand that in office days are going to be highly social. But this goes beyond social bonds, this time is what helps foster collaboration, innovation, mentorship, psychological safety and allows members to seek support.
This can also be a great time to get in high-value meeting time, e.g., presentations, pitches, etc.
Help intentionally connect your team, this is especially valuable for new incoming Gen Z employees who are looking to build relationships. In-person team lunches though small gestures can be the differences needed to leave employees finishing their day feeling newly connected to their team and work.
Parting Thoughts
Returning to the office via a hybrid model is new terrain for the global workplace just like adapting to remote work was at the start of the pandemic.
Take on a data-driven approach within your team and company. Don't roll out major decisions without investigating and probing a bit deeper than just surface-level opinions. You can test out different methods, set up agreed-upon metrics, and survey your team after some time.
Your team will hold the answers on how to approach hybrid best. Your job as a leader is to help unlock them.
If returning to the office is about people first, you may navigate some initial relearning of working together in person. To make it easier for your team, consider organizing a retreat. We've compiled some information to get you started in the blog below??
Unicorn Leaders?— The Podcast
Have you heard the newest episodes!?
Our most recent podcast guests are experienced leader superstars: Brittany Forsyth and Shawn MacDonell.
???Brittany (former Chief Talent Officer of Shopify and founder of Backbone Angels)?shares how her leadership journey and styles grew and evolved as she rose to become Chief Talent Officer of Shopify. She shares her lessons along the way and how they all helped her build her leadership confidence to succeed at a unicorn-level company.
???Shawn?(founder of Creativision)?shares how his experiences have highlighted the importance of becoming comfortable with essential leadership skills like approaching a productive conflict, giving and receiving feedback, and pursuing a proactive action-oriented attitude.
Take a listen & subscribe ??
THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT
Sincerely,
The Unicorn Labs Team
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