Return to Office Mandates Are a Bad Idea

During the pandemic we learned how to work very effectively outside the office.  Work From Home became the trend, and it has persevered more than 5 years later.  But some leaders want to go against the trend and make employees return to the office full time.  It is never a good idea to fight trends, and this podcast explains why full time return to office is a very bad idea.

 

1) Employees are less productive working from an office.  A lot of time is wasted on unnecessary tasks (documented in this podcast,) which costs a lot of money.  And leaders tend to be really sloppy managing people and the work process, leading to even poorer productivity.

2) Employee engagement is going in the dumpster – which is the opposite from the goal return to office was supposed to create.  This podcasts takes a deeper dive into sources of engagement, and identifies why the trend to working from home creates higher engagement, while forcing folks to the office does the opposite.

3) Demographics do  not favor the employer. With more retirees and fewer young workers, employees have the stronger hand. If you want to succeed you have to manage employees along the trends that make them want to work for you.

 

Thinking points:

• Did you think productivity was worse in the pandemic, or better?
• Do you really think employees prefer 100% in office to a WFH or hybrid environment?  Want data confirms your thinking?
• Do you focus on creating stronger engagement, or are you trying to brute force higher productivity?
• Do you want an innovative and motivated workforce? If so, are you doing what will motivate them (rather than motivates you?)