From “two weeks to slow the curve” to “The Great Reset”, remote work has had its time in the sun. Or rather, it’s had its time in the gleaming spotlight of the past two years as many of us have pivoted, transformed our dining room tables into makeshift offices, and spent more time in Zoom meetings than we ever thought possible.
Many employers have shifted their expectations to allow employees to remain working at home a few days week, splitting time between home and office now that they have a better grasp on the pandemic and necessary safety precautions. However, others are asking employees to come back to the office full time, taking the remote option completely off the table, except in certain circumstances.
If we’re being honest, working from home has a lot of perks. You can toss a load of laundry in the dryer during your lunch break, you can monitor your child’s schooling from home, and you can often shape your work hours to fit your schedule.
So if there are so many benefits, why does your boss want you back in the office?
Collaboration
Yes, you can see your team member’s smiling face on a Zoom call while you troubleshoot the latest problem. You can brainstorm ideas together, innovate, and design new products.
But it’s not the same.
In-person meetings allow everyone to have the same space at the table. We can easily notice when someone has something to say but are just waiting for space in the conversation to fit it in, when someone is becoming frustrated, or when what we’ve said has inspired another person to interject their comments. And we can adjust our behavior according to others in the room when we pick up on subtle cues of how they may be feeling.
Relationship building
Being in person also allows spontaneous conversations outside of meetings set at agreed-upon times. So-called “water cooler conversations” can be viewed as a detriment to productivity, but they also serve an important function in building relationships, increased comfort levels with others on the team, and non-scheduled times where employees can communicate about work.
Many, many articles have been written about how to encourage this type of communication to occur virtually. Yes, it’s that important. While some methods are more successful than others, there’s no true replacement for this type of in-person relationship building.
Concern about burnout
While throwing a load of laundry into the dryer over your lunch break sounds great, working from home has its downsides. If you’re answering emails at your kitchen table at 11 p.m. with eyelids propped up by toothpicks, your productivity might be through the roof but your mental health may be suffering. Employee burnout is a struggle that many who work from home are facing.
Employers want to keep their employees happy, but burnout is real. In fact, 29% of employees who work from home all the time felt burned out, according to a recent Gallup survey.
In a time when employees are quitting in droves, ensuring a positive workspace is important to employers. Having a firm separation between home and work is one of the ways employers can keep employees from burning out.
Mentoring
Physical proximity lends itself well to mentoring. Mentoring may be informal, where an experienced employee is helping a new employee navigate a new job. Or it could be formal, where an experienced employee is helping to train his or her replacement or teaching them the ins and outs of a job for several weeks or months.
In 2014, a Harvard study found that negotiations were more positive for both parties when the people involved shook hands before beginning their discussions. In fact, the whole world was atwitter when the prospect of a simple handshake between President Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani symbolized a new era of the relationship between the countries. And while many meetings may not involve any negotiations at all, seeing others in person allows important non-verbal communication to occur. We can pick up on non-verbal messaging much easier in person than we can over a computer screen where most of a body is off-camera.
While you may be less than thrilled with a return to the office, the benefits to returning to in-person work include better collaboration, more opportunities for mentorship, and avoiding burnout. Better workplace relationships result in happier employees, and that’s a win for everyone.
