Thankfully the Covid-19 vaccination programmes are allowing society to open-up again and return to some sort of normality. However, what that normality is desired to be in the workplace will be the subject of much debate.
Working from home has proven to be beneficial for many, including retail business in smaller towns and villages that have found a boost from customers who have been forced to stay in the locality instead of commuting to the workplace. The carbon footprint of the commute has been significantly reduced and many people have found an improvement in the balance of their work and personal lives.
Return to Work Standards
The Global Wellness Institute has a Workplace Wellbeing Initiative. It is chaired by John Toomey, CEO of Wide Awake Wellness PTY Ltd, Vice Chair is Danielle Posa, Director of Enterprise Solutions at Chopra Global.
The Workplace Wellbeing Initiative has come up with a set of ‘Return to Work’ standards which are worthy of discussion and consideration. The standards are introduced as follows. ‘’The purpose of the Return To Work (RTW) standards is to help organizations take a strategic and well-thought-out approach to the transition back to the office that takes into account the ways in which the fundamental “nature of work” has changed.
While it was an upheaval for us all to embrace remote work in early 2020, there have been some unanticipated ‘quality of life’ benefits from the flexibility that came from remote work that has contributed to employees’ well-being – and these benefits should be retained. It is our intention that these standards be seen as guidelines that can be fluid and adaptable for the optimum RTW policies and procedures that suit each organization based on their space, employee needs, work requirements, environment, and bottom line’’
Develop a Return to Work Value Proposition
A proposal within the standards is the development of a Return to Work Value Proposition. To quote directly: ‘’Ask yourself, how can you get people to want to work on-site? What does your workplace offer that enhances the employee experience? This helps answer the question of “why do I really need to go back?” Explain how there are benefits to both remote and in-person work and what they are. And make sure you’ve first educated yourself on the differences.’’
This is a very interesting point. If an employer is having to ask themselves what their workplace offers to enhance the employee experience then maybe that is the signal to really think about the workplace proposition. Asking the employer the question might lead us to think that too many employers are not really putting enough thought into the employee experience. If that is the case then it may seriously impact the employers ability to recruit and retain the best talent.
Actively include remote workers in meetings
‘’Test the hybrid format, and encourage experimentation with meeting types (physical, virtual, walking). Specifically ask employees how they would like to be included. Encourage them to show their face on video – because their opinion matters NOT because you want to make sure they’re paying attention.’’
This is excellent advice. The promotion of flexible working is a good thing for the employee and employer for both work-life balance and productivity. There is however a hidden danger in creating two tiers of employee. Being in the office, ‘in the know’ and recognised or being a remote employee who feels disengaged and then perhaps feels forced to return to the office full time or maybe so disconnected they opt to seek employment elsewhere.
Encourage social interaction to foster communication and bonding amongst employees
‘’Many employees cannot engage in social activities due to familial obligations, or they feel they can spend the time more productively doing something else. Embed social time into the work-day through company sponsored lunches – or happy/hour meetings that take place before 6pm. Get creative.’’
What better advice can employers be given than ‘get creative’ when thinking about employee social interaction. This will lead to better engagement, mental wellbeing and help teambuilding which will bring productivity gains, aid staff retention and build the employer brand.
The list of standards from the Global Wellness Institute – Workplace Wellbeing Initiative can be found at the following link:- https://globalwellnessinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Workplace-Wellbeing-Initiative-Return-to-Work-Standards.pdf
