Before the pandemic, working life was clearly structured: You get up in the morning, get ready, get on the train or in the car and off you go to the office! Corona has turned this structure on its head. For many, working from home has become the norm. With many coronavirus protection measures no longer in place, the calls for employees to return to the office are getting louder. Fixed and sometimes mandatory office days are being introduced. But can everything go back to the way it was before? Going back to the office can be a decision, but it should not become a compulsion!
Key facts
- Now that many protective regulations have expired, many companies are luring their employees back into the office more often or completely.
- Many managers want to turn back the clock and make it compulsory for their employees to be on site.
- Employees often feel ignored by this step and demand a flexible model.
- A hybrid working model is a possible solution and enables flexible, creative working & maintains social interaction.
Working from home: the new standard or the beginning of the end?
Getting up relaxed without having a long journey to work: many employees have become accustomed to this after a tough familiarisation phase. The advantages of working from home are obvious.
A lot of household chores can be done quickly on the side, commuting is no longer necessary and let's be honest, working in jogging bottoms has its appeal too. All joking aside! With the abolition of various pandemic regulations and the easing of measures, working from home does not seem to have become the long-awaited standard. The trend is more towards an alternating model of working from home and office days. Hybrid working will most likely become the standard. After all, it combines the best of both worlds.
The problem is that employers are sometimes trying to force their employees back into the office. According to a survey by ‘The Future Form’, 75% of all managers want their employees in the office at least three days a week. The old model of five days is even better. However, this inflexible working model is not exactly proving successful. Above all because this decision is often made without consulting the workforce. The home office is therefore permanently limited over time.
Actively setting incentives: Concept for returning to the office
Compulsion has never been the right solution to enforce something. That's why many companies are taking the path of luring their employees back to the office with attractive benefits. Mojito evenings, team events or a visit to the beer garden now sound normal.
According to a study by McKinsey, the so-called ‘nudge’ is particularly effective. Companies help their employees to make decisions and provide them with options so that they have a free choice. This massively lowers the inhibition threshold for bringing employees back to the office. The study suggests the following measures:
1. Actively plan collaboration
To give employees sufficient flexibility and freedom, you should set clear priorities. So ask yourself who needs to be in the office and when. Feedback discussions, meetings or pitches are a good and necessary reason to leave your own home. It also creates a lot of synergies between departments and allows resources to be utilised efficiently.
2. ‘Nudge’ employees
In addition to these sometimes mandatory meetings, you should always show your employees additional options. For example, if you have a two-week workshop on SEO in your agency or department, incentivise participation - either on site or online. Attract your employees to the office with exciting topics or follow-up events. More freedom instead of compulsion!
3. Review & optimise employee behaviour
Try to give your team as much flexibility as possible. Try to bring some of them back to the office by offering small benefits. This not only helps to strengthen social contacts, but also to give your employees confidence and thus also encourage their productivity. It is therefore important to constantly work on these incentives, improve them and adapt them to the current circumstances in your company. Above all, hybrid working is a fluid process in which technology can also help you. Try it out and create a flexible concept for returning to the office.
With these incentives, it's back to the office - but hybrid!
In addition to benefits such as free drinks, you should create options that provide real incentives to come back to the office. These can be material incentives such as ergonomic office equipment. After all, a hybrid office should offer a better workplace than your own four walls. Adjustable desks, ergonomic chairs or a second screen can certainly be plus points for visiting the office more often.
But the active co-design of the office also attracts many employees back to the office space. How about new break areas, small lounges for chatting or personalised furnishings for employees. Make your employees feel comfortable, just like at home, and your favourite colleagues are undoubtedly a possible incentive! The constant question ‘Are you coming to the office tomorrow?’ has become more common over the last two years. But if we're honest, it's justified. Because without the team, a working day is only half as nice - especially when team members become friends. One possible approach is to provide booking data from the team. This gives them the opportunity to openly share who will be in the office and when.
Enable hybrid working quickly & easily with Seatti
Would you like to bring your employees back to the office, but still give them enough freedom? With Seatti, we offer your company exactly this function! In addition to the simple implementation in MS Teams, we offer you numerous functions. With our desk booking function, you can book your workplace quickly and easily and filter it according to the equipment. And to give you even more incentive to go to the office, our location & location overview function provides you with information on who will be in the office and when. Just take a quick look at the Meetup Dashboard. Here you can see who has already booked and which space they are occupying. This makes meeting up with your favourite colleagues a breeze!
