When asked nicely a year ago to return to work in person (RTO), many employees complied. Companies promised employees coming back to the office benefits of spontaneous conversations, teambuilding, collaboration, and mentoring,

Although skeptical that all of those things require being in person, people packed up their laptops at home, dressed in hard pants and shoes, made the commute, unpacked in their corporate offices, and got to work. Every once in a while, they ran into someone, but for the most part, people drove all the way to the office just to work the same way they did from their home offices.

They were alone in an office attending virtual meetings.

Promises made about how great it will be when everyone returns to the office were not reality. Yes, there were fun and games and free pizza lunches; however, those things do not make a culture.

⚫ Their bosses were not there to stop by or mentor. Top leaders weren’t making the same effort to be in the office, so why should everyone else, people wondered.

⚫  There were few in-person development opportunities because most were one-offs or online. Bosses were not inviting them to in-person meetings to learn or contribute something special.

 ⚫ There were very few useful team meetings or brainstorms for valuable purposes. Those are planned so people can prepare, research, bring ideas, and think about next steps.

After a few weeks, people resisted coming in to the office.

Why make the effort to haul the laptop in, suffer the commute, and wear hard pants all day, for an hour of phony teambuilding games and free pizza? Then to work the same way they would at home?

Employees want to come into the office when there is something scheduled and work from home the other times.

That spurred some companies to track employees’ work time, monitor computer usage, require login times, and threaten termination.

Some leaders took up the RTO battle so forcefully, it became the priority blinding them to other issues.

Recently, Salesforce, the $31.4 billion CRM company with 79k employees (Source: Forbes), tried a different tactic: emotional manipulation. For ten days starting this past Monday, the company would donate $10 for every day any employee came to the office.

Those mandates and manipulations are missing the boat.

Employees would want what was promised about RTO: mentoring, learning opportunities, engagement with leaders and each other (for the most part), team building, and brainstorms with purpose.

They do not want to be treated like children. The oversite that comes with being in person is stifling and insulting, yet many managers reverted back to old-fashioned micromanagement as soon as the pandemic ended.

People have changed. Management needs to change too.

No thirty-year old wants to ask permission to go to the dentist or justify leaving early to coach their kid’s soccer game.

Picture the conversation:

• Employee: “Can I leave an hour early next Monday to go to my kid’s soccer game across town?”

• Manager: “Sure. Are you going to skip lunch or come in an hour early that day to make up the time?”

• Employee: “Well, I worked late every day last week on the Travis project.”

• Manager: “Yeah, but how will you make up the time next week?”

Employees recognize that level of micromanagement as distrust.

It disconnects them from the manager, team, and company. A few of those incidents among the team prompt resume updates. It leads to disengagement and departures.

Don’t get it wrong.

People do not mind advising coworkers and managers that they will arrive late or leave early. Professionals from shift workers to customer service reps to HR generalists and accountants understand the need to get the work done and to be there for the team.

It’s the asking for permission part that feels intrusive and childish to grown adults.

When you want people to RTO, update your management style and make it worth it.

Here are three actions you can take to make RTO worthwhile for your people:

1.  Be there too. Be in the office, get your coffee in the break room, grab a group to go out for lunch, and talk to people when you see them around.

2.  Get to know the people you see. Walk around, ask about their day and work. Engage in small talk to show you care, build your network, and identify ways to help people.

3.  Connect people to opportunities. As you engage in small talk and get to know people, you will be able to identify work, learning, and networking opportunities that will be valuable to them. Seek opportunities to connect people so they can contribute, grow, and help others.

The more you are present, engage, and connect others, the better you can inspire people to want to be in the office. You can help create the sense of belonging and purpose people desperately seek right now. (Source: Mayo Clinic)

Inspiring will yield better results for the company than threats of termination will. It will improve your influence as a leader too.

 
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Sources:
Forbes.com Profile: Salesforce.com
https://www.forbes.com/companies/salesforce/?sh=6483e83e7a2b

 Is having a sense of belonging important?
Mayo Clinic Health System
December 2021
https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/is-having-a-sense-of-belonging-important