The global pandemic has brought a permanent shift in working culture. Many businesses embraced remote working for the first time, and now that lockdowns and quarantines are over, hybrid and flexible working has become the new normal.
And while many people are able to work capably and productively from home, there are still many positives to experience working in an office. From creating a more sociable workplace to improved collaboration, bringing your teams back into the office, even for just some of the time, can help your business thrive.
But how can you tempt teams back to the office when working from home has so much appeal? Explore the following ideas to help bring your employees back to the workplace.
Focus on the positive aspects of office working
Working from home undoubtedly has its benefits. From a lack of commute to being able to tackle the laundry between meetings, many people love being able to work from home. But that doesn’t mean that office working doesn’t have its positives too, and that’s something you should focus on to help bring your employees back in. From highlighting the social aspect to benefits such as free coffee and snacks, focus on what makes your office a fun and exciting place to be to help bring people back.
Introduce new social initiatives
One of the things that people miss the most about office working is the people. Spending face-to-face time with teams can help encourage bonding, and it can cut some of the difficulties faced when commuting solely online. Make returning to the office about the social aspect to help your employees see the benefits of coming in, even if it’s just once a week.
Introduce new initiatives such as team lunches and after-work events to help give teams a reason to return to the office and see the benefits for themselves.
Promote safety
It’s understandable that people will be apprehensive about a return to work, from both a health, and safety, perspective. It’s important to promote the workplace as a healthy place to be, and that includes both mental health and physical health.
Make your workplace safer by introducing new security measures, including secure entry systems and better parking lot lights. You should also take the time to address any safety concerns your employees might have about returning to the office.
Employees should also feel happy and comfortable in their work surroundings. Developing healthy working relationships is important, and bringing people back together can help address some of the problems your team may be facing.
Finding ways to encourage your teams to come back to the office can help foster a natural transition, instead of imposing mandatory office days. This can help your teams embrace fully flexible working so that they get the best of both worlds. A return to the office can bring many benefits to businesses, but you need to help employees see the benefits for themselves too.
