While new data finds onsite interaction is happening, in person and in office are not the same

Dear Friends,

We continue to share key comparative insights from our latest in a series of national studies on the progress of work life flexibility?from the employee point of view, pre-and post-COVID.

Last week, we showed?that even with a higher degree of flexibility post-COVID, a majority of U.S. full-time employees still do most of their work onsite at their employer’s location. For many, that may mean fewer days spent in the office, but still, it's most.? For this group, RTO isn't?"return to the office" it's return to the office more.?

Today, we are focused?on the finding that a majority of these mostly onsite employees?reported?they spend the SAME?amount (57%) or even MORE?time (30%) now interacting with colleagues than they did pre-pandemic/2020. ? ?

This helps?to explain another source of the resistance to return-to-office mandates under the premise of more face time. Employees believe they’re already interacting with colleagues as much, if not more than they were before.??

The real challenge is to what end are?those?interactions happening? This?is where "in person" and "in the office" are not necessarily the same.???

The current level of flexibility was executed under the pandemic’s crisis circumstances. As such, employees?may be in the office, but the?onsite interaction they?report may not be intentionally focused on the priorities and performance outcomes most important to leaders.? ?

For leaders with their place-based context for work, mandating a specific number of days in the office may seem like the easiest way to achieve the?performance outcomes they believe are not happening. But, simply showing up at a site on a designated day doesn’t guarantee a collaborative focus on team or organizational priorities, especially those around culture, connection and mentorship.

In fact, I recently posed this question to a group of senior leaders debating how to get their people "back to the office." I asked all twenty who were gathered?around the table, "Is it that you want people back in the office or that you want them to have more intentional, in person interactions?"? Every single hand went up for the second option.? My response was, "So?let's stop talking about a specific number of days and start focusing on why those intentional,?in person interactions matter and how we can?encourage them to happen."? ?

To ensure purposeful onsite interaction, prioritize the activities that benefit from more in-person collaboration. But also remember culture, connection, and mentorship are equally important beyond the office, especially when nearly a third of employees do most of their work remotely. Therefore, it’s important to also identify how to achieve these outcomes when not together in the same location. ?

For guidance on how to determine and set priorities that achieve desired outcomes, including questions to ask and next steps, download “The Now and Next of Work: A 2023 Flex+Strategy Group Research Report --Unifying Leaders and Employees on the Future of High Performance Flexibility.” This research is the only such data available with a?pre- and post-pandemic view into the employee experience.

Would you?like more direct support? Do you?have?remaining 2023 budget you need to allocate by year-end?? Let's talk. Whether it's:

• Aligning leadership around a shared understanding of what it looks like for the organization and the workforce to perform at a high level working flexibly,
• Providing high performance flexibility training and guidance to managers, teams and employees, or
• Simply analyzing the current state and future possibilities of your organization's flexible work strategy...

We can help you move forward toward growth, profit, and well-being. Just email us at [email protected] and we will set up a meeting.??

?Next week, we’ll look at how we’re all, to varying degrees, flexible workers now and the risks in limiting the focus to just hybrid or remote employees.

Until next time, keep reimagining work and life,

Cali

Cali Williams Yost, Founder & CEO of the?Flex+Strategy Group , is one of the world's most trusted authorities on how work flexibility can unlock high performance, engagement, and well-being. For over 20 years, she has helped organizations from banks to hospitals to universities reimagine how, when, and where they operate. She is the author of?two books ?on the subject, and her media credits include the Today Show, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, Marketplace, Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, and Harvard Business Review.

Follow her on?LinkedIn and?Instagram .