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Marcus Villig, the CEO of European mobility app Bolt, grew weary while watching employee turnover soar, teamwork suffer and the company’s state-of-the-art office buildings turn into ghost towns. The cause? Remote working, he concluded, which posed an existential threat of Bolt disappearing into the limbo of mediocracy.
“We will stop the insanity of people working remotely from places like Bali,” he said. “That is a vacation not what we hired them to do.”
You’ve probably heard the growing concerns from CEOs like Villig or Amazon’s Andy Jassy whose tolerance for “work from anywhere” has been replaced by return to office (RTO) mandates. They make a case that remote work undermines company culture. Yet others, especially younger workers, see it as a modern necessity to keep life front-and-center in their work-life balance.
Newsweek reported that “More than two-thirds of professional companies in America said their new job ads will no longer have the option of fully remote work …” and “a fifth of business leaders said they would not be against linking pay and promotions to workplace attendance.”
The idea is that remote workers don’t have the same focus on their jobs as they would in the office. It’s true that some intangibles get lost when workers, being social creatures, aren’t physically around each other. These include impromptu brainstorming and collaboration, immediate feedback and the fuller communication that comes when you see someone’s face and body language. There’s also the social learning from watching colleagues handle certain situations and challenges—this especially benefits new hires and younger employees.
Still, remote working helps some people avoid long commutes, keep their eyes on an aging parent or manage childcare responsibilities more easily. This allows for a better work-life balance and personal well-being. It also saves an employee time involved with commuting and the financial burden of home care and childcare.
Flexibility fosters engagement and loyalty and allows you to hire from outside the physical constraints of your location. While big metropolitan areas like Los Angeles have tens of millions of people and more than enough universities to recruit top talent from, remote work has helped businesses in places like Missoula and Spokane draw talent from the same pool without requiring relocation.
So if you are wrestling with the size and scope of instituting an RTO policy, here are some key considerations to help you in your decision-making process.
Understand your real needs.
To make objective decisions, you first need to gather objective data. You probably have expectations of employee performance based on tangibles such as productivity, client satisfaction and meeting deadlines. Then there are the intangibles like collaboration, innovation and team morale. Evaluating these metrics will help you determine whether remote, hybrid or in-office work best supports your organizational goals.
Be transparent.
Explain your rationale for instituting a return to work and what impact you hope it to have on productivity, client satisfaction, growth and team connection. Yes, this is where you can use the word “synergy” (but please, only once).
Think of your employees as individuals.
It’s important to recognize employees’ challenges don’t come with a one-size-fits-all solution. Show them you value their well-being, their time and their contributions. Get creative. Find ways that help them return to the office. Think about offering staggered working hours to avoid long commute traffic, or offer to offset parking fees. Some companies work out deals with convenient childcare providers.
Consider a hybrid structure.
Rigid RTO policies can backfire. A structure that adapts to your needs and those of your employees is best. Flexibility and adaptability are key in any office environment, so figure out what core days an individual or team needs to be in the office and what days they can work remotely. Striking the right balance can increase the productivity and value of in-office collaboration.
Don’t rush into this. First, clearly outline which tasks are best suited for in-office versus remote days. Enlist managers and supervisors in this process. Then encourage your managers to model this approach themselves, to develop trust and reinforce a culture of balance.
Measure your results.
We all know better than to make lasting changes before gathering data and reviewing it with a critical eye. So first try it out and pay attention to how it’s working. Metrics you may want to consider would be the productivity of employees during remote work times versus in-office periods. Are you getting more results from one or the other?
Ask your employees. How do they think it’s going? Do they believe they are meeting your expectations—and is the policy meeting theirs? Maybe come up with a survey, or if you think it would help, some way to gather brutally honest, anonymous feedback. Remember, you’re still in charge of how you want this to work, but small and reasonable adjustments or adaptations could make the difference in maintaining your team’s engagement and productivity.
Final Thoughts
It should be pretty clear by now that the regimented, industrial model of work isn’t what the future holds. Today’s employees, especially younger ones, are looking for workplaces that meet both the business’s needs and their own human needs. The younger generations have decided there won’t be a struggle over the work-life balance, as we often saw with our own parents’ generation.
Leaders who embrace a balanced, transparent approach can strengthen their company culture while also attracting and retaining top talent. Instead of going back to the way things were before the pandemic, find ways to move forward with thoughtful planning, flexibility and a willingness to listen as you build a workplace that thrives in this new era.
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