MySammy’s Post

Return to office mandates are more about appearances than business goals, employers admit. “Flexible working policies are an excellent tool for businesses looking to attract and retain top talent, given the importance that workers clearly place on working in a way that suits them. What this looks like will differ between industries and individual businesses, but the good news for employers is that different forms of flexibility are gaining popularity. Not every business is able to offer remote work, for example, and could instead put into place a shortened work week or flexi-time," says Danny Stacy, UK head of Talent Intelligence at Indeed. #RTO #FlexibleWork #FourDayWeek #4DayWeek #HomeWorking #MandatedOfficeReturn #DEI #Flexibility  https://lnkd.in/eVnpgJMR

Policy should never just be about appearances, particularly when the evidence points to multiple employer benefits from flexible working, not least the retention of talent and higher productivity. The argument for people being in the office has its merits too, people need face to face interactions and inexperienced people need support. But the issue is far from binary, suggesting that the many forms of hybrid working are likely to be the future of work.

There is a mindset within established leadership, particularly the RED leaders that physical presence is the only way to 'know' that the teams are working. That if they need you, and in most cases the 'know all tell all 'style of leadership would mean they do, they can get access more quickly. The problem isn't remote working, the problem is 'know all tell all' leadership and their lack of trust in the rest of the team. There are better ways to lead and that is why we founded nuutology to give companies the ability to lead effectively without having to be physically present- to still have a voice in the room and enable empowered decision making. When remote workers know what is expected of them and there is clarity around the purpose of their role and empowered to make decisions that are aligned with the vision and values of the company... you will see higher productivity. Thank you Farrukh Younus for sharing this. #betterwaystolead #leadership #remoteworking

The UK government is considering endorsing remote working to enhance productivity, countering the negative effects of "presenteeism," where employees are mandated to spend a minimum number of days in the office. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer advocates for a flexible approach, balancing remote work benefits with necessary office presence. The plan also includes a "right to switch off," protecting workers from being contacted outside working hours. However, there are concerns over its implementation for civil servants. #RemoteWork #Productivity #WorkLifeBalance #UKGovernment #FlexibleWorking #Presenteeism

Employers are summoning employees back to the #office for periodic, purpose-driven in-office days. We should not overlook employees’ anxieties as they transition to in-person #work. Employees need a plan to ease these transitions, too: https://buff.ly/3XgQ6g4 #HybridWork

Great piece below by HR Dive shared by our friends at Ride-with-Via. Some memorable quotes - whereas "2024 could prove to be a defining year for the U.S. workplace, not least because so many employers that shut down offices at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic ... the slow recovery of office occupancy shows that while many are back in the office, remote work has staying power; Stanford University economist Nick Bloom went so far as to say last November that “Return to the Office is dead” after observing that work-from-home levels had remained steady last year after falling between 2020 and 2022." and "... an overlooked element of the RTO conversation may be one of its most obvious: how employees get to the office in the first place." They go on to say that "Car commuting is a chief complaint of workers and job candidates who have resisted RTO, according to Gallup. Aside from the stress of traffic, there are also financial and time considerations. One analysis by economist Adam Ozimek for freelance platform Upwork found that the shift to remote work during the pandemic saved employees an average of 49.6 minutes per day that would have been spent commuting. Accounting for average fuel, maintenance and repair costs, Ozimek and Upwork said, U.S. workers could collectively save roughly $183 million per day by working at home instead of commuting by car." Maybe it's time for the C-Suite to turn the telescope around and look through the other end of the lens to see how their employees view "working-from-home". They might see that their management "rah-rah, go team! let's have free Taco Tuesdays or wing-ding Wednesdays" doesn't quite stack up against the time suck that is the daily commute. Let's have a serious and respectful discussion between grown ups [I'm talking to you management]. Treat your employees as the adults that they are and remember it's not a zero sum game. Your employees will come into the office if they see that there are tangible and beneficial reasons. But simply answering e-mails, doing spread sheets or "because-I-say-so" are not those reasons. The outcome of this dialogue will have massive impacts on our transportation networks [both transit and roads] so the more honest we can all be, the better the outcome. Enjoy!

Let’s face it - return-to-office mandates are backfiring. 38% of employees say they’d turn down a job if it required full-time in-office work. Employers, take note: forcing employees back into the office is tanking engagement and driving top talent away, especially those with caregiving responsibilities. ➡️ Employees value flexibility more than ever. ➡️ Forcing rigid office policies is a quick way to lose your best people. ➡️ Top talent wants balance, not just a paycheck. It’s time to rethink the "return to office" approach. Adapt or lose out on the future of work. Agree? Like and share to spread the message. #RemoteWork #EmployeeEngagement #FutureOfWork

As the tug of war between employees coming into the office and working from home continues, new research from Office Freedom has discovered the most attractive benefits that employers can be offering to entice workers back into the workplace…   Are there any benefits missing from this list? Let us know in the comments below ⬇️   #rto #hybridworking #remoteworking #benefits

The Return to Office hasn't always imrpoved productivity as planned. take a look at what the UK government is doing. UKhttps://lnkd.in/gh2GnSbj #flexiblework #reconnectingworkspaces #remotepathways #productivity #hybridwork

The biggest learning from the pandemic has been that being present in one physical workplace is not essential for every job. In other words, work from home works just fine. As offices have reopened, many workers continue to work remotely. Enter the phenomenon of the “hush trip.” To learn more about this, click below (⤵️) to visit my blog!