There is no “return to work” from COVID-19

How managers and leaders can support, motivate, and care for employees in the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic

“Work is not a place you go; it’s a thing you do.” –various

I first encountered this quotation about eight years ago. It has since been attributed to various sources, all of whom probably came up with it independently as the possibilities of remote work started to become clear.

At that time, officeless work was still a relative novelty, confined mostly to tech startups who’d decided the primary purpose of a workspace was to hold foosball tables. Since then, debates have raged, officeless empires have been built, co-working has become commonplace, and the tide has turned back and forth on work-from-home policies in the United States.

And then the global COVID-19 pandemic happened. Organizations stopped debating the merits and perils of remote work because their existence — and their employees’ lives — depended on it. All those business cases for and against working from home suddenly seemed academic and irrelevant. Companies that said their employees would never work from home were having Zoom meetings within 24 hours. More than a quarter of businesses (29%) in an April 2020 McKinsey survey said their remote sales teams were just as effective, and even more (31%) said they were actually more effective. Remote working had arrived

But the innovations didn’t stop with where people were working. Organizations discovered they could do others things they once thought were impossible. One company that had always said customers would have to call to start service with them had an online portal set up within 48 hours so that their customer service representatives wouldn’t have to come to the office. A retail company that had been planning an 18-month launch of curbside delivery had the whole operation up and running in two days. Even the most staid and change-resistant industries and organizations quickly learned to think and work differently once change became irresistible.

About a month after stay-at-home orders spread across the United States, many organizations started contemplating what the so-called “return to work” might look like. Manufacturers set aggressive timelines and began testing strategies for ensuring worker health and safety in the absence of proven vaccines and treatments. Researchers began developing frameworks for new white-collar office spaces that balanced colocation with safe distancing. Corporate leaders began talking about reopening workplaces and getting back to normal.

But there is no “back to normal” when so much and so many of us have changed. Just as 9/11 changed how we travel in ways that persist nearly 20 years later, the global COVID-19 pandemic will transform how we think about workplaces and business for many years to come.

While the “how” and the “what” of work have changed in staggering ways, the “why” has not. Fundamentally, business is nothing more than humans serving humans. For this reason, the humans who work within businesses — the employees — should be the focus of any return-to-work plan. What will employees experience as they return to the workplace? What opportunities and challenges will they encounter?

Managers and leaders like you will play key roles in addressing the challenges, making the most of the opportunities, and ensuring that the next phase makes us even better than we were before. You’re awesome. You can do this.

Please don’t stand so close to these stock photo models.

First, understand the situation

The idea that there will be an event called “returning to work” is fundamentally flawed, as is the notion that we’ll get “back to normal.” Your employees have been “at work” this whole time, and if they return to the workplace, they won’t be coming “back,” but forward. As digital strategist and experience designer Chantel Botha told me in a recent conversation, “There is no ‘when this is over.’” I find it helpful to think of it, instead, as “the next phase” in our ongoing social evolution.

In 1947, Kurt Lewin first presented a valuable model of change, summarized in three phases:

1. Unfreeze, in which the organization gets ready for change

2. Change, in which the organization, well, it’s pretty obvious, and

3. Refreeze, in which the organization embeds the “new normal.”

While this model has an appealing logic and linearity, we don’t live in that world anymore, and the COVID-19 pandemic has made that startlingly clear. Organizations that succeed can’t be frozen today or tomorrow. Instead, they must exist in a perpetual state of slush, strategically slipping from today’s state to tomorrow’s with agility and grace.

The shift to slush is not without its costs, however. The human brain and body crave certainty and stability. Even those of us who embrace change like to have some sense of what’s going to happen next, and that’s getting harder and harder, especially during this crisis.

But slush is not without its benefits either. Right now, organizations, their leaders, their managers, and their employees are more receptive to change than ever.

The greatest sin we could commit as we step into the “return-to-work” phase of the pandemic would be to simply go back to the way we did things before. So much learning and growth has occurred, so many new ways of working have been discovered, so many bureaucracies have been shattered that it would be criminal to leave all that behind in favor of “the way things used to be.” This is a frightening, risk-filled time, but it’s also a time of immense possibility for organizations, for individuals, and for society as a whole.

Who returns to the workplace?

The first decision we must make is who returns to work. Previously, companies had policies about who “got to” work remotely and who needed to work from a company facility. In the next phase, we’ll have to justify inviting employees back to a workplace and its inherent risks.

HR professionals and business managers should work together to evaluate jobs, roles, and functions, to determine which ones need to return to the office, and which can remain remote. Are there certain tasks that can only be completed in the workplace, for security, compliance, or practical reasons? Have productivity or other key business results suffered as a consequence of the move to remote work for certain aspects of the organization? Are there other compelling reasons to request that certain employees return to the workplace?

For most organizations, remaining remote will be the default mode. If business results and employee performance are satisfactory, it will likely be less costly and risky to support continued remote work than to do what’s required to eliminate the risks of returning to the workplace.

Adjust your expectations

Of course, we can’t forget that many, many people have died and will die as a result of this virus. We can’t forget that many employees have been personally affected by the virus. Businesses have lost employees, and employees have lost coworkers, friends, and family. Those of us thinking about what’s next are fortunate indeed.

As for those employees who are physically well, most will still have been affected. In a recent chat, talent consultant and strategist Jesyka Simpson put it this way: “When we go back to work, we won’t be the same people who left.” Some of the effects of quarantine found in the research include:

• Anxiety
• Nervousness
• Irritability
• Sadness
• Grief
• Confusion
• Anger
• Numbness
• Insomnia
• Emotional exhaustion

At a minimum, employees will have confronted their values, their priorities, and their aspirations during this time, and they will return to the workplace with new perspectives. For some, calling in sick will become more common, driven less by their physical health than by emotional and psychological needs.

As I mentioned in a previous article, we need to attend to the bottom of Maslow’s hierarchy during this time, to physiological, safety, security, and belonging needs. Employers have always had a duty to provide a safe workplace for their employees, but that has taken on new meaning now. Ensuring employee health and wellbeing will be the first order of business. Organizations will follow the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), and other public health agencies to make sure the basics are addressed before aspiring to meet higher-level employee needs and motivations.

Employees have always had needs and motivations as distinct as their fingerprints, but it’s more important — and just plain practical — than ever to understand those distinctions between individuals. School districts will make decisions independently, which means some of your employees will still have kids at home while others send them back to school. States, counties, and cities will provide guidance or mandates that will affect your employees differently, depending on where they live. While organizations (and HR professionals) often prefer policies that apply equally to everyone, we will need to find ways to balance fairness with flexibility, adopting approaches that are people-driven, not policy-driven. This will make every manager’s job harder and more important.

A framework for managing the “return-to-work” employee experience

When navigating difficult and unfamiliar terrain like this, you need a roadmap. The 6 Es of employee engagement — a research-backed, human-centered framework — can help you through the next phase:

• Empathize. Listen to understand your employees’ experience.
• Engage. Involve your employees in meaningful work.
• Educate. Help your employees understand what’s most important right now.
• Enable. Ensure your employees have what they need to be successful.
• Empower. Make it easy for employees to do the right thing.
• Embrace. Recognize and celebrate the attitudes, mindsets, behaviors, and outcomes you need.

Managers and leaders like you can use the 6 Es to create a positive return-to-work experience for all employees.

Empathize

To get started, make an effort to understand your employees’ attitudes, concerns, hopes, and needs related to returning to the workplace. I’ve spoken to several organizations that plan to field a survey of, at least, a representative sample of employees. This survey should not be an employee engagement or satisfaction survey, but should instead support a thorough understanding of the current employee experience. Because many of your employees are already finding it difficult to balance work and home responsibilities, the survey should be short, action-focused, and easy to complete. In normal times, I’d recommend asking open-ended questions to lead to greater insights, but closed-ended questions will make the survey experience better for employees and will support quick decision-making and action-taking.

Questions in such a survey might include:

• What personal or professional challenges have you encountered working remotely?
• What do you need in order to do your job successfully at home?
• What personal or professional advantages have you encountered working remotely?
• What changes have you made to your work that you think should be sustained?
• What changes has the organization made that you think should be sustained? For example, what have you noticed about how communication happens, how priorities are managed, or how people work together?
• What most concerns you about returning to the workplace?
• What most excites you about returning to the workplace?
• What changes would you need to see in the workplace in order to feel comfortable returning?
• How soon after the workplace reopens will you feel comfortable returning?
• What kind of return-to-work schedule would make you most comfortable (e.g., two weeks in the office/two weeks remote, coming to the office twice a week, etc.)?

Providing multiple choice lists for as many of these questions as possible will make it easier to decide what actions to take, while making it easier for employees to respond. This should lead to better response rates and more-actionable insights.

Empathizing isn’t just about surveys though. You should also continue to have one-on-one conversations with employees to ensure that you understand their unique circumstances, needs, and concerns. Traditional HR policies often discourage getting too personal with employees, but knowing that an employee lives with someone who is vulnerable, or that they themselves might be vulnerable, will become highly relevant during the next phase. We’ll be walking a tightrope for which most HR policies are not yet prepared, between privacy and protection. Err on the side of caring and mutual respect.

Engage

A common misconception in organizations is that managers and senior leaders should solve all the meaningful problems, and deliver the solutions to employees to implement. However, organizations that operate this way deprive themselves of the intelligence, insights, and input that the majority of their workforce could provide. Instead, involve employees in solving the difficult problems related to the next phase by soliciting their input and including them in implementation of adjustments and improvements.

Many organizations have formed “return-to-work” task forces and subcommittees to solve problems and address opportunities presented by the next phase. Rather than locking your top leaders or managers in a Zoom meeting for hours, invite your employees to identify the areas related to returning to the workplace that will require the organization’s focus, such as workspace redesign, scheduling changes, technology, workflows, etc. Then invite or assign people to focus on specific areas that interest them or where they can make meaningful contributions.

Educate

Once your employees have made themselves heard and been invited to participate in managing the return to the workplace, they will need to know exactly what to expect. Some of the top questions your employees will have will include:

• What can I expect when I arrive at the workplace?
• What new policies, processes, and procedures will be in place?
• What policy changes that occurred during the stay-at-home period will revert back, or be changed again?
• What steps will the organization take to ensure my safety?
• What will workplace hygiene look like?
• What changes will be made to the physical workspace to accommodate safe distancing?
• What changes will be made in common areas and meeting rooms?
• What new behaviors will be expected of me?
• What can we expect over the next 3 months? The next 6 months? The next year?
• What isn’t changing in this next phase?

Though there will be a lot of “what” and “how” to share with your employees, they’re more likely to engage when you help them understand the “why” behind decisions. Providing employees with clarity and context is always beneficial, and even more so during times like these. Three timeless questions all of your employees should be able to answer are:

· What are the organization’s top priorities right now?

· How does my role affect those top priorities?

· What does the organization need most from me right now?

Don’t wait to start answering all these questions for employees. Use bite-sized microlearning in multiple formats — video, audio, written, live, recorded, etc. — to help employees begin to understand what to expect from the next phase.

Enable

If we invite employees to return to the workplace, we’ll need to make sure they have what they need to be successful. And we’ll have a pretty clear sense of their requirements because we took the time to listen in the Empathize phase. By following through on what they’ve asked for, you enable better performance and lay a foundation for trust.

In addition to following advice from the CDC, WHO, and other public health organizations, here are some steps to consider that will enable employees to do their best work in the workplace:

• Adjust spacing of workspaces to allow for the recommended distance between employees. Install barriers between desks in open-plan offices. For additional inspiration, visit sixfeetoffice.com.
• Provide the personal protective equipment that employees will need. This might include masks, gloves, and disposable office supplies.
• Consider alternating employee schedules or bringing employees back in waves to reduce risks.
• Advise employees on the safest available commuting options.
• Enable low-touch and touchless experiences throughout the workplace. Consider conferencing equipment in meeting rooms, reservation and check-in systems, doors, and elevators.
• Adjust the capacity of conference rooms and other common areas to allow for sufficient distance.
• Create one-way paths through spaces to limit close contact.
• Post clear signage so that employees know what to do and how to move through spaces.
• As much as possible and practical, allow employees to continue working from home.

Many employers have already begun conducting employee temperature checks in the workplace, while others are considering COVID-19 testing for employees. The effectiveness and legality of such approaches is yet to be determined, but these are the sorts of steps that might be necessary to enable employees to be successful in the next phase.

While physical health and wellbeing are of paramount importance, remember that many employees will also be struggling with the emotional and psychological effects of this difficult time. Work with your HR partners to ensure your employees are aware of employee assistance programs, employee resource groups, telemedicine, and any other programs that will support them.

Empower

Employees who feel that they’re only there to follow orders are unlikely to make their greatest contribution to the organization, and they’re also unlikely to stick around very long. At a time when we feel somewhat powerless in the face of a global pandemic, it’s important to ensure that your employees have the appropriate level of autonomy and control over their experience. Once again, the listening you did in the Empathize phase will help you avoid guesswork. You can take three key steps to empower employees to make their greatest contributions:

• Turn a critical eye on your policies and processes. In all likelihood, they were developed for a different set of circumstances. What adjustments can you make so that employees can perform at their best as they return to the workplace?
• Encourage employees to propose new and improved ways of working. During the stay-at-home phase, spontaneous changes were made to how individuals work, how teams worked together, how communication happened, and to how goals and priorities were established, managed, and communicated. Which of those changes should be sustained in the next phase? What additional changes need to be made?
• Default to yes. After being asked to stay home, to avoid friends, to cut out a lot of recreational activities, we all feel like “no” is the default to almost anything we want to do. In the workplace, however, you can empower employees to truly engage with their work in this time by saying yes as much as possible. If your impulse is to say no, stop and reflect on whether that’s really necessary. If you can say yes without creating risks to employee health or to the business, do it.

Embrace

Finally, never underestimate the power of catching people doing something right. All of us are hungry for positivity right now, and you can play a powerful role in feeding that hunger:

• Celebrate even the smallest successes achieved during lockdown.
• Recognize and/or reward the new attitudes, mindsets, behaviors, and outcomes the business needs.
• Dust off your existing recognition programs and put them to work to raise everyone’s morale.
• Welcome your employees back with enthusiasm, optimism, and hope.

Positive reinforcement isn’t about carrots and sticks; it’s about letting employees know that both effort and excellence are appreciated, and that individuals are valued. Don’t be afraid of thanking employees too much.

Six guiding principles for managers

If you’re a manager of people, the likelihood that this is your first time welcoming employees back after the crisis period of a global pandemic is pretty high. It’s ok if you don’t totally know what you’re doing. Give yourself — and others — as much grace as you can. Assume positive intent. Allow plenty of room for imperfection.

While leveraging the 6 Es to help your employees deliver their best at this time, keep these guiding principles in mind to get better results and stay sane:

• Expect uncertainty. Unexpected times will lead to unexpected behaviors and unexpected results. As much as our brains crave certainty, we’ll need to embrace the possibilities that come with uncertainty and unpredictability. It’s entirely possible that a bird will suddenly forget how to fly, but it’s also possible that a goat might figure out how to waterski.
• Ensure safety. Don’t forget that we’re operating at the base of Maslow’s hierarchy. If employees don’t feel safe, they won’t be able to do much of anything well.
• Earn trust. In a recent interview with Adam Grant, relationship expert Esther Perel said, “Trust isn’t built; it’s earned.” Show concern for employees. Do what you say you’re going to do. Remember that managing employees is more than just a series of transactions; it’s a relationship.
• Encourage collaboration. As employees come out of stay-at-home orders, it’s only natural that they’ll feel a little alone. However, few of humankind’s greatest achievements were accomplished by a solitary person. Encourage employees to work together to address the company’s top priorities and solve its toughest problems — while keeping an appropriate distance, of course. While you’re at it, collaborate with other managers; don’t try to do this alone. There are no prizes for solitary suffering.
• Exercise caution. The return to the workplace shouldn’t be like ripping off a Band-Aid. It should be like giving a skunk a pedicure. While this can be a time of great experimentation and innovation, when it comes to the return to the workplace, go slowly. Make only necessary changes. Keep that skunk calm.
• Engage intentionally. Remember that employee engagement isn’t about getting employees to do stuff. Instead, it’s about cultivating an authentic emotional connection and commitment. What can you do that will increase an employee’s sense of connection and commitment? What might you do that would decrease it? Focus on the former and minimize the latter.

The return-to-work is a human experience

As employers begin to invite employees to return to the workplace, they do so with trepidation and hope. It’s a challenging and frightening time that is also filled with possibilities and opportunities. As managers and leaders of people, our responsibility is not just to care for the humans going through this experience; it’s also to help them be the best version of themselves.

Whether employees return to a physical workplace or not, if we embrace the beautifully and intensely human elements of this experience, we can step forward with pride, strength, and love. When we do, just as we have during the stay-at-home phase, we can achieve things we previously thought were impossible.

Resources to make you more awesome

Here’s a short list of resources that I’ve found helpful. I hope they’ll serve you too as your organization plans for the next phase.

• “The Coronavirus Economic Reopening Will Be Fragile, Partial and Slow,” Wall Street Journal, by Erich Schwartzel, Alison Sider, and Heather Haddon
• “The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: rapid review of the evidence,” The Lancet, by Samantha K. Brooks, Rebecca K. Webster, Louise E. Smith, Lisa Woodland, Simon Wessely, Neil Greenberg, Gideon James Rubin
• “How the biggest companies in the world are preparing to bring back their workforce,” CNBC, by Alex Sherman, Melissa Repko, Michael Wayland, Hugh Son, Leslie Josephs, and Lauren Thomas
• “Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers to Plan and Respond to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19),” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• “Getting your workplace ready for COVID-19,” World Health Organization
• Cushman & Wakefield Recovery Readiness guide
• Cushman & Wakefield Six-Feet Office prototype
• ADP Employer Preparedness Toolkit