This leads to the question: Now that everyone has had a taste of working from home (WFH) and embraced it in the last two years, how do you convince your teams to return to the office?

We already know that WFH positively impacts our energies and resources. It also channeled our finances towards necessities to combat Covid-related stress. Employees no longer wasted time getting stuck in traffic, waiting in long queues in public transport stations, and dealing with other pre-pandemic work-related challenges in the workforce.

Corporations are now resorting to hybrid work environments to even out the playing field. Perhaps this is a way to reach a sustainable win-win agreement for leaders and teams. As of this writing, most of MgtStrat’s clients are fully integrating their employees back into their physical workspaces. 

As a leader, how can you prepare yourself to ease your teams back into a co-located workplace–the office–as seamlessly as possible?

The 2022 Microsoft World Trend Index summarizes its findings in the following key areas to help leaders navigate the uncertainty of hybrid work: 

1. EMPLOYEES HAVE A NEW “WORTH IT” EQUATION – 53%of employees are more likely to prioritize health and wellbeing than before the pandemic. At the same time, 52% of Gen Z and millennials are likely to consider changing employers this year, up 3% year-over-year.

• Employees’ “worth it” equation—what people want from work and what they’re willing to give in return—has changed. The power dynamic is shifting, and perks like free food and a corner office are no longer what people value most.
• In our study, 47% of respondents say they are more likely to put family and personal life over work than before the pandemic. In addition, 53%—particularly parents (55%) and women (56%)—say they’re more likely to prioritize their health and wellbeing over work. 
• Beyond pay, the top five aspects of work that employees view as “very important” for an employer to provide are positive culture (46%), mental health/ wellbeing benefits (42%), a sense of purpose/meaning (40%), flexible work hours (38%), and more than the standard two weeks of paid vacation time each year (36%). While new-to-the-workforce Gen Z shares the same top three priorities, they list positive feedback and recognition as their fourth priority while ranking a manager who will help advance their career in fifth place. 

2. MANAGERS FEEL WEDGED BETWEEN LEADERSHIP AND EMPLOYEE EXPECTATIONS – They also feel powerless to drive change for their team.

• Over half of managers (54%) feel leadership at their company is out of touch with employee expectations. And 74% say they don’t have the influence or resources they need to make changes on behalf of their team. How can managers create equilibrium between leaders and employees when many leaders say their company plans to return to the office full-time within the following year while most employees prefer the flexibility of remote and hybrid work?

3. LEADERS NEED TO MAKE THE OFFICE WORTH THE COMMUTE – 38% of hybrid employees say their biggest challenge is knowing when and why to come into the office. Just 28% of companies have established team agreements to define the new norms. 

• Michael Ford, CVP of Global Workplace Services, states, “You must design workplaces with enough flexibility to support every employee. A mix of quiet places, collaboration areas, and touch-down locations help ensure everyone can be connected, engaged, and productive.” 

 4. FLEXIBLE WORK DOESN’T HAVE TO MEAN “ALWAYS-ON”

• Meetings are still consuming the lion’s share of our time. Since February 2020, the average teams saw a 252% increase in their weekly meeting time, and the number of weekly meetings has increased by 153%.
• Despite the digital overload, people do flexible work independently by taking control of their time and reshaping the workday. Productivity patterns in Outlook show people are becoming more intentional about taking breaks, avoiding double booking, and establishing meeting-free work blocks.

5. REBUILDING SOCIAL CAPITAL LOOKS DIFFERENT IN A HYBRID WORLD

• While most hybrid employees seem to be maintaining their work relationships, only half of the remote workers say they have a thriving relationship with their direct team. Even fewer have a strong relationship with those outside their group.
• 43% of leaders say relationship-building is the greatest challenge in hybrid and remote work—but it’s one worth prioritizing.  

While we’re all learning as we go, the findings reveal an urgent opportunity and responsibility for leaders to approach the transition with intention and a growth mindset or risk being left behind.

While the above findings may elicit conflicting views about going hybrid, we can explore the benefits of hybrid workspaces.