Returning to work in the new normal

Kristi Sinclair - HR Professional

Covid-19 has resulted in a huge work from home experiment that may result in changing the way many businesses operate when restrictions lift and we move to our new normal.  As many business leaders have learned, the sky hasn’t fallen in with teams working off site but others have come to understand that some employees are better suited to working on site.  With any new process, it’s worth looking at the learnings we can take from this experience and weigh up the pros and cons to help you decide how you direct your teams when the world opens up again.

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Pros and cons
There are significant benefits of working from home for both businesses and its employees which might include:

• Employees gain flexibility in work arrangements and avoid long commutes (which can impact job satisfaction for some.
• Businesses experience reduced office costs
• Businesses may have happy and motivated employees if a more flexible work arrangement improves their work life balance
• Business has the potential to increase their talent pool by engaging employees who are not limited by their location
• Employees avoid office politics, distractions and disruptions
  
  

These are all fantastic short-term benefits however, there can be issues with continued working from home too:

• Zoom fatigue (yes, it’s a real thing)
• Loss of organic conversations and collaborations
• Loss of ideas generated at the ‘water cooler’
• Loss of the ability to provide ad hoc feedback and advice on the spot (instead of waiting for the final result or until the employee asks for feedback)

 
Zoom fatigue is a ‘thing’. How many times have we heard “Can you hear me? I can hear you” or “where did Bob go? He’s dropped out again”. And let’s be honest, Tiger King wallpaper backgrounds were funny for around 5 mins.  While technology supports remote working, humans generally require social interactions with isolation having the ability to impact mental health negatively and causing teams to feel disconnected.
 
Loss of organic conversations and collaborations as well as ‘water cooler’ conversations have a huge impact on productivity and development.  Being able to run an idea by your colleague allows us to workshop an idea as the idea germinates, often resulting in turning a passing thought into something really beneficial to the business.  Unfortunately talking things through with the cat does not seem to be as productive. These organic conversations also lead to well connected and engaged teams which are a huge asset within any business.
 
Being able to give on the spot feedback and advice to your employees in person is invaluable. Employees learn and develop from situational feedback far better than what they do from an impersonal email three days later. Additionally, there are the difficulties of missing out on tone, body language and the inability for the employee to ask questions when feedback is delivered late and by email or over the phone, so employees can mistake intent and this can cause confusion and conflict.
 
The Social Network
So, with many employees working from home due to Covid19 and experiencing the ‘benefits’ of flexibility, a sleep in each morning and the only commute being from one room to another, what’s the incentive for them to make the trek back to the workplace?

These are some of the more obvious pros and cons, but something not as easy to quantify is company connection and work place culture.

A Gallup study surveying more than 15 million employees indicated that those with a “best” work buddy are “seven times as likely to be engaged in their jobs, are better at engaging customers, produce higher quality work, [and] have higher well-being” compared to those without.

When employees feel connected to their workplace and are aligned with a business’s values, they are more likely to engage with their work. Businesses with high engagement levels have higher repeat business, productivity and profitability than their competitors.  And in comparison, businesses with high turnover rates often suffer from poor employee engagement.

Strong social connections make employees happier and physically healthier which translates into increased work performance.  Happiness expert Annie McKee, author of ‘How to be happy at work’ says, “one of the ways we can make ourselves happy and feel more fulfilled in our workplaces is to build friendships with the people that work with us, work for us and even with our boss”.

Although working from home has its benefits (and let’s be honest, it has been nice for a while) it can be detrimental to employee’s mental health in the long term, especially with the added stress of Covid19.  Humans are social creatures and working without seeing anyone outside the family unit can cause a real sense of disconnect. 
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Prolonged remote working can also cause anxiety. A recent study concluded the lack of close contact hinders three key aspects of effective working relationships:  The formation of trust, connection and mutual purpose.  Socialising may even become awkward or uncomfortable after so much time apart. On one hand, employees may feel disconnected form their work colleagues and feel like they need to get to know everyone again. And on the other, they might have missed their co-workers so much that they risk their health and productivity to ‘catch up’.
 
What can you do to get your employees back in to the workplace and be happy about it?

• Take a poll on how people have enjoyed working from home and how comfortable they feel returning to work. Surprisingly some businesses have employees overwhelmingly wanting to return to the workplace and others are more concerned about the commute on public transport far more than they are about returning to the office.  You can access a free version of Survey Monkey to facilitate a survey that will provide helpful insights.
• Openly discuss your businesses plans to align with Covid19 safe work arrangements and listen to any ideas and suggestions they may have regarding this, ensuring they feel safe and valued.

• Determine what flexible working arrangements you can manage in the business moving forward to find a good balance for employees and the business. For example, can you support employees working from home 2 days per week? If so, what guidelines and rules do you need to put in place.
• Can you stagger working hours to allow employees to avoid the commute in peak hour and suit their personal needs as well?
• Provide employees with plenty of notice to return to the workplace. Don’t spring it on them on Friday that come Monday, they need to start waking up early and putting on suits, heels and makeup again
• Make sure all communication is geared at their returning being a great thing for them and the business (and why) rather than a punishment that some may see it as.

 
If you are providing peace of mind to your employees by ensuring they feel supported, informed and heard the transition should be seamless. The health and safety of employees is the number one priority and if your people are confident with your stance on this, they will feel comfortable and confident to productively return to work.
 
Managing the communication and transition back to on site working arrangements may provide you with some challenges.  Contact HR Staff n’ Stuff if you require any support as well as guidance around ensuring you have a CovidSafe workplace and what to consider if more flexible work arrangements are being requested.

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