How can you encourage people to return to the office?

Since the hybrid work has become a new norm, Many employers are struggling to get their employees back to the office.

This reluctance to return to face-to-face can be understood. Indeed, the implementation of hybrid work needs to be accompanied. It is essential to give meaning to coming to the office.

This new way of working should not be an obstacle to corporate cohesion. On the contrary, it is possible to highlight the interest of being part of a team and thus allow the return to the office. Indeed, 40% of French employees (according to a Great Place to Work study) believe that conviviality is one of the three most important aspects at work.

In the process of returning to the office, it is crucial to understand everyone's challenges. This will allow find the right motivators for each employee.

Returning to the office, a challenge to be supported

Adapting your offices to hybrid work to make you want

To promote and meet the new needs of employees, organizations can, for example, decide to redevelop their premises.

Indeed, working from home, when you are lucky enough to have a healthy environment, may be preferable for some. Collective spaces can be noisy and reduce the productivity of the employee who will then prefer to work from home.

It is therefore important for employers to meet the specific needs of teams in terms of premises. This is how today, corporate offices combine individual workstations, spaces for collaboration, socialization and learning.

Support the return to the office with adapted tools

Also, coming to the office and being alone can be demotivating. It is to meet this need that the hybrid work and flex office management tools. They respond to these various problems and instill a real sense of belonging in employees.

Indeed, this type of application allows to offer visibility on the presence of teams. By knowing who comes when, this prevents employees from being alone or in excess.

Discover m-work to organize the return to the office

Another motivator to return to the office may be the opacity generated by remote work. Indeed, a pace that is mostly remote working can lead to a loss of information. Some companies have a strong culture of oral exchange or “the coffee machine” and distance learning can alter the level of information an employee has.

Instead of highlighting this negative aspect of remote work, it may be interesting to draw some positive results from it. Indeed, it highlights the fact that To create a link, you have to be on site for some of the time. Thus, workshops or meetings between teams can be organized from time to time to strengthen cohesion.

Hybrid work at the service of performance

Returning to the office: at the service of cohesion and employee well-being

Beyond the social aspect, the return to the office and the associated exchanges make it possible to develop performance. They also have the impact of limiting isolation and overwork.

Indeed, individual, team, and corporate goals require clear communication. Meeting, even occasionally, in person, allows you to remove certain uncertainties and often to move forward more quickly and effectively. It also prevents information asymmetry and overwork by some.

Some employees also have trouble dropping out when working from home. Going to the office thus makes it possible to compartmentalize and improve work-life balance and therefore, performance.

The importance of giving meaning to coming to the office

As with any decision concerning the organization of work, a key success factor is the participation of employees.

Indeed, no two businesses are the same, and it is imperative to involve employees in adapting to new ways of working.

To do this, businesses can set up working committees dedicated to improving the work environment. Employees can express their ideas and needs in terms of workplace design, or flexibility, for example.

The idea is to show that this return to the office is not “imposed from above” but co-constructed to reconcile everyone's aspirations. By valuing feedback and implementing ideas proposed by employees, the company shows that it takes their opinions into account.

This approach reinforces the sense of belonging, motivation and commitment of employees. They will see the office not only as a workplace but also as a space where they can thrive and contribute to a common project.

Encouraging the return to the office in the context of hybrid work requires a global approach. It is necessary to take into account the layout of spaces, the adaptation of work tools, but also and above all, the active involvement of employees in the life and evolution of the company.