Returning to the Office - the good, bad and the unexpected

After the year that 2020 has been and we begin to have people returning to the office, some people are feeling a bit confused about how bumpy the return to the office is turning out to be. If you are one of those people, read on as I share some insights about why a return to the office isn't as inspiring for everyone. I'm also planning to share some views on the process itself - the good, bad and the unexpected for those trying to map out a return to the office.

What is good about going back to the office?

1 It's good to be back working with other adult humans who we aren't related or married to! There is a lot to be said for the benefit of time away from intimate partners and housemates - Pink wrote a fantastic song Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely) that covers this. Note this is NSFW (not safe for work) as some of the lyrics are potent to say the least.

2 In terms of collaboration, innovation and ideation: there is nowhere like the office to hear casual, random and ad hoc snippets of overheard conversations or thought provoking snippets. In virtual meetings most of us have been so good at sticking to the agenda and to time that there has been very limited room for unstructured interaction and collaboration.

3 Client service is easier to handle when a call comes in and there's someone else close by to see your confused face or for you to quickly ask "I've got someone asking for this, who is best to help them" This is quite hard when working remotely - sure call forwarding and message taking works, but it can feel clunky for the caller and hard on the person who took the initial call.

Who might feel going back to the office is a bad idea?

• Some people REALLY like the solitude, peace and environment of working from home and have found far better efficiency and an ability to shape their day while working from home. Are you one of the people who now does yoga during your lunch time? Or have you become really good at staying in your "active wear" below the desk? (like a newsreader)
• Most people took a couple of months to really get into a good, steady routine of working at home. We do not just "snap back" into routines and habits that are more than 6 months old - we are humans, not elastic bands or clips.
• If you care for or live with someone who has health issues and you use crowded public transport for a lengthy commute then you might feel going back to the office is a bad idea

The picture above explains how we form beliefs (and habits) which is really important for leaders to understand. The concept of returning to the office is mostly about how people feel and not just about the facts. If you read this image from left to right it demonstrates how:

• data and experience may be the same for different people, yet individuals can SELECT different aspects (this is one way to explain how 2 people can respond very differently to the same data or situation)
• meaning is added to what has been selected, based on previous personal experience and other beliefs. The data gets more and more personalised at every step of this diagram
• assumptions and conclusions play a large, mostly unspoken, role in how we form beliefs
• the conclusions and beliefs we form then guide our actions which often reinforce the assumptions and conclusions

The Unexpected

It goes without saying that we won't know how this will work until we try it.

We also don't know how individual staff are feeling about any return to the office unless we ask them.

Some people might snap back into the routine of getting up, dressed and out the door for work quite quickly - we don't know who they might be. (There were some early social media memes joking about clothes not fitting anymore but it may not be funny at all for some people)

It is possible for us to change our habits and beliefs - people do it all the time. What is unknown is how long and what support is needed. If I again refer to the diagram above, by starting at the right hand side you can use compassionate questions to help people unpack and understand what actions are driven by beliefs or by facts (I've run this exercise twice with groups recently to very powerful effect). Going deeper and uncovering assumptions and conclusions is best done one on one with people and always with compassion in mind.

I have come across a few scenarios where the personal responsibilities of employees have had to be shared, much to the discomfort of the employee. Remember this, as leaders that you don't know:

• which staff might have a partner with a serious health issue that has compromised their immune system
• if staff provide care to elderly relatives
• everything going on for your people in their private lives (nor should you) and how others in their family might support or not support a return to the office
• what tensions exist within shared custody arrangements: it's possible that an estranged partner might withhold access to children (especially if the child has a health issue) if the other parent is increasing their risk to exposure to infection
• how anxiety or PTSD of the employee or a partner may be triggered by the concept of returning to the office
• if you have an employee who finds change difficult and feels they have only just gotten used to working from home
• if none of the "work clothes" (including a uniform) fit anymore
• any number of other real factors that might be going on for your employees when they tell you they are unsure/reluctant to return to the office
• factors that make some staff super keen to return to the office

These are only a few of the good, bad and unexpected that might show up as you plan and begin to return staff to the office.

What's my advice?

1. Always make sure you are following and adhering to the guidelines from state government and health departments and WorkSafe/SafeWork Australia
2. Be prepared to make a plan, revise it, gather feedback from staff and keep it a living plan - ready to adapt as needed
3. Accept that you will need to have some one on one, individual and case by case conversations to work things through with some of your staff. It's likely that most people will be covered off ok by the one plan and that you will need to make individual arrangements for some of your team.
4. Keep up to date and keep communicating with your teams.
5. This will take time.

If you have feedback please feel free to comment. If you'd like to explore more including where to get practical advice feel free to contact me [email protected]