Open For Business
Tips For Returning To The Office Environment
2020 was a year where businesses around the world were forced to transform. While the digital divide presented challenges in delivering education as well as healthcare, many businesses found that access to modern technologies allowed their teams to shift to a work-from-home environment. While figuring out Zoom, video etiquette, and learning how to use collaboration software was a learning curve for many, it seems that there is a sense of gratitude that some industries and businesses were able to survive. Live concerts and events were creative enough to engage with audiences and fans in new ways.
We are now entering a new space where vaccine adoption has increased and many businesses are open once again. Retail and restaurants are back in full swing in many places, and this means that the office is also being considered. The big question is to open, or to remain virtual? Tech giant Google has announced that they will return to the office this fall, while allowing their teams to “work-from-anywhere” for four work weeks, that is up to 20 days per year away from the office. Some reporting also shows that many will have hybrid options with about 20% being full-time in the office.
Facebook however has opted for more stay-at-home time, and as of June 2021, the Wall Street Journal reported that even more of their team will have the option to choose full-time remote work or come back to the office. Mark Zuckerberg himself reportedly has told staff he will personally spend as much as half of the year working remotely.
For every business owner out there today who is contemplating how they will re-open and what their post-Covid environment will be, there are a few key factors to consider when weighing your final decision about having the team back in the office.
Leadership would be wise to check-in and get a temperature check. Every workplace environment is different and so are your individual team members. Some have been waiting to rejoin their friends and co-workers after a year of digital connection. Others however have grown quite comfortable with the distance — some due to sensitive mental health issues, and others due to feeling more productive in their home space. If you are considering a back-to-office mandate, or a mandatory hybrid solution it's a great idea to check where everyone is at. While a 100% return to office may be the right fit for your business, consider that some team members may need 30–90 days to ramp back into the space in a way that is sustainable.
Accept that things will not be as before. Yes, I used the word acceptance. Sometimes coaching is about driving change, and yet some of the most powerful moments in coaching can be from a model of accepting what is. While Covid was a global event that was out of our control, what every business leader can control is how they choose to re-enter the workplace with their teams. It is critical to accept the fact that changes have happened, and some are permanent. People’s individual needs have shifted after well over a year of new insights and re-conditioning. Many employees have learned to value family time, exercise, and balance at a far deeper level. You may find as a leader that in order to keep this stellar team member who stuck out the pandemic with you, that you have to come to accept the new way in which they choose to live. Trying to change them back into who they were is futile, and may make them feel that who they have become isn’t valued. We must also accept that market conditions have changed, and you may have a tough road ahead in finding talent to replace those you’ve lost.
There are some things that many would consider obvious but are worth making note of in an article like this. One is to understand that for some social distance is still a way to feel safe, so creating options for those who are willing to return but may still need distance is a great way to help people to re-engage. The cleanliness of the work environment is also a factor. Having a plan that is clearly written and that can be referenced by your returning staff can give everyone a feeling of safety knowing there has been thought out into how we all return to work.
While these three ideas may seem simple, far too often we are seeing businesses rush into reopening without creating a space that takes into consideration the changes that have happened in the psychology of the workforce. Leadership is about listening and helping others to lead. In this post-Covid world, helping them lead themselves back into the workplace may very well be one of the greatest leadership tasks that entrepreneurs and business leaders face for the next decade. How you choose to face it is what matters most. Will you invest time and actually listen — and create a space for people to return in a way that feels safe? Will you spend too much of your valuable energy trying to make things the way they were, or come to accept that things have changed and maybe for the better? Finally, are you understanding the importance of adopting certain guidelines as a way to help people step back into the workplace regardless of how fast you may feel it should go? These are tips on how to support your workforce to come back, reduce the anxiety that some are feeling, and possibly create new opportunities from all of the changes that help you not only be OPEN FOR BUSINESS, but stay in business.
Prime Movers Lab invests in breakthrough scientific startups founded by Prime Movers, the inventors who transform billions of lives. We invest in companies reinventing energy, transportation, infrastructure, manufacturing, human augmentation, and agriculture.
Sign up here if you are not already subscribed to our blog.
