You may be wrong when it comes to returning to the office

FOMO is your best ally, according to two researchers. (Photo: Jason Goodman for Unsplash)

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Waking up in the morning. Fear of missing out, or what English speakers call FOMO, can be your best ally in bringing your employees back to the office.

This is what Mark Mortensen, professor of organizational behavior at the European Institute of Business and Amy C. Edmondson, professor of leadership and management at Harvard Business School, advises.

In the paper they wrote for Harvard Business ReviewThe two experts point out that the stories about returning to the office that have been most widely reported in the media mostly have one thing in common: one-sided instructions, stigmatizing employee grievances and sounding like a dictatorial policy.

“Not surprisingly, this leads to frustration among employees, even in waves of departures, especially experienced players, according to a study conducted at Microsoft, Tesla, and Apple,” they wrote.

The authors advise that “companies should engage in dialogue with employees and be open and honest about the most important outcomes expected” from returning to the office.

The key is how this policy is delivered, a part of the equation that organizations don't typically think about. It's a bit like turning a problematic situation into an opportunity to learn lessons, as Mark Mortensen and Amy C. Edmondson explain.

They also urge bosses to stop portraying their needs to bring employees back into the workplace to stimulate innovation or fuel company culture as mismatched with the needs of team members.

Otherwise, “the issue becomes more difficult to resolve, because resistance conventions in ‘wars’ and ‘conflicts’ are either won or lost, and are not redefined,” say the experts, based on their own research.

Everyone's work

To avoid giving the impression of duplicity and separation between the interests of one party and the interests of the other, leaders must acknowledge from the beginning the necessity of reaching compromises.

Since the start of the pandemic, some workers have developed new habits or changed their living environment, making returning to the office more complicated. Leaders must recognize this, as well as the fact that previous guidelines that were adopted may have contributed to the complexity of the situation they find themselves in today.

Mark Mortensen and Amy C. Edmondson add: “It's not about abandoning policies because they're unpopular, it's about recognizing that your employees may be facing real, scary challenges and thinking of ways to help them solve them.”

Management must present the solution of problems that a return to the office may generate as everyone's responsibility, as an opportunity for cooperation.

Change the approach to delivering benefits

The benefits an employer hopes to gain from his organization's members returning to the office do not apply only to him. However, he often finds it difficult to make them understand.

Therefore, most of the time, employees welcome such an announcement by concluding that their boss believes that promoting a strong corporate culture is worth more than what matters to them, such as spending more time with their loved ones.

However, working face-to-face generates real benefits for the worker as well, as a number of studies have shown. Being part of an innovative organization is motivating and has a positive impact on employee well-being.

Note that the opposite is also true. The need for rebellious employees to control their work schedule benefits companies, and not just because it reduces employee turnover by keeping employees happy. The authors state that “a greater sense of responsibility and ownership translates into increased performance and more efficient distribution of tasks.”

Allow yourself to make mistakes

There is no single procedure that must be followed to ensure that the return process goes smoothly. The approach each company adopts will be its own, but above all, it must be iterative and focused on collaboration.

Above all, the authors point out that management must allow itself the right to make mistakes. They are crucial for drawing lessons and learning. The first return to office politics will be full of them, and they will be required to change according to the new realities of the world of work. It is essential that you are aware of them once they are adopted.

“An important part of your process is recognizing—and communicating—in advance that periodic re-evaluation of any policy will be necessary,” Mark Mortensen and Amy C. Edmondson conclude.

To work remotely or not to work remotely, this is the question that is causing turmoil in many companies.

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