Planning your return to the office – Are you showing empathy as well as practical concern for your team?

As we head back into the office, there’s a lot of confusion about what the best approach is. We’ve been through a serious and sudden shift in everyday life, that has impacted office life and work routines on a really fundamental level, so it’s no surprise that there are a lot of questions.

And there’s certainly a lot to think about. Not only will offices likely have to meet strict regulations (the cut and dry legal side), there are some more subtle problems.

Employers who don’t consider how their staff will be impacted individually, who don’t present a fully thought out, carefully planned approach to return to work, or who don’t put safety and empathy at the forefront of their strategies risk alienating their employees, and down the line facing turnover issues born out of this.

As an employer/manager, your response here will define how your employees/team members see you in a big way. I think a lot of people are going to find out their employers true attitude during the next few months, and unfortunately not all of it is going to be positive.

Having had many conversations with clients and candidates about going back to the office, here are some key points to cover before opening up to make the return to work safe, and to put your employees first…

1.    Consider if you really need to return to the office

A pretty obvious one – If you need to open up, open up. If not, then follow the likes of Google, Twitter etc and consider staying closed for the time being. Your team will certainly appreciate the extra concern this shows for their safety and trust you’re implicitly putting in them.

2.    Talk to all of your team individually before finalising decisions  

There are two things you might look to cover here…

a.    What are the specific needs of each team member? Whilst schools are opening up for some students there will be many children not in the groups going back, leaving some of your employees with childcare responsibilities. It’s also essential to consider health implications – You likely know if any of your team have any underlying health conditions or are part of an at risk group, but what about other members of their household, or extended family? There are many individual circumstances that might impact return to work for individuals, and you’ll only find out by talking to everyone.

b.    Further, how does each team member feel about going back into the office? There is naturally going to be a certain level of anxiety in some. Whether this is about falling ill themselves, facing a stressful commute 5 days a week, making members of the household ill or anything else, the chances that there are some serious concerns are high. Good managers and employers show empathy and understanding to team members, and making any reasonable adjustments to help them out is recommended.

3.    Consider opening up only for people who actively want to come back to the office  

Whilst there are many who have been enjoying the time at home, there are also many people are keen to get back to the usual routine. Maybe because they miss the office culture, they feel more motivated and work better in the office, they’re going a bit stir-crazy at home (or they could do with a break from the kids) – There are a multitude of reasons why people are keen to come back in. Only asking those who want to come back in to re-enter the office shows great considerations for your employees, gives them more flexibility and control over their work, their physical health and their mental health, whilst making social distancing much easier.

4.    Have clear and visible guidelines for social distancing

There will likely be a lot of fluctuating advice and regulations from government about social distancing in the office, it’s going to be really important to stick to this. Your team will want to be reassured that you have taken this advice seriously, and are creating a safe work environment for everyone. Publishing some sort of social distancing staff manual, putting some tape on the floor two metres apart and having a quick training session on the first day back will show you have put safety first and make everyone feel more comfortable.

5.    Think about BAME employees

It’s no secret that covid-19 has disproportionately affected BAME people more than other groups, and whilst the reasons for this are not known fully, it’s important to look and see if you can counteract that in any way. Have a think if you can see anything in your business which might be negatively affecting those in minority groups, or if there’s any support mechanism you can put in place specifically for BAME employees. Opening up a BAME forum or appointing someone to look specifically at BAME issues could be a good way to go.

6.    Consider support on transport options

Most people in London are on the tube to work, which will continue to be one of the least safe options for travel. This is a slightly trickier one to implement, but if you can offer support to employees on commuting via other methods, this could help ease the return. If your company doesn’t already offer cycle to work or incentives for walking/cycling, this might be something to consider. Offering some sort of car-pooling system might also be a consideration.

7.    Regularly ask for feedback

Things are likely to change as time goes by – People’s attitude to social distancing and to new safety measures is likely to be in flux as public opinion on coronavirus changes. Make sure you’re regularly collecting feedback from your team to ensure your approach to return to work is hitting the mark, and that you’re not missing anything.

This is a challenging business problem for employers and a difficult time for employees, with a lot of uncertainty on both sides and differences of opinion throughout. Having a careful, empathetic and considered approach to returning to the office is essential for your teams’ safety and wellbeing, and employers that show true consideration and concern at this time will fare much better than those that don’t.

If you have any questions or would like any advice on planning the return to the office, please get in touch – ben@thechangepartners.com