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Covid-19 has come with many challenges, throwing so many organisations into remote working. This meant that a lot of leaders have had to adjust to this “new normal”. Just as organisations were getting used to managing remote teams, some have chosen to re-open offices and welcome employees back and this seems to be causing new challenges. Whilst some organisations have chosen for employees to remain working from home for the foreseeable future, not every business has the ability to do this. Our experiences of now returning to the office will never really be the same, in the short term nor the long term.
This may be a worrying time for some and having concerns surrounding this is normal. It is a huge change and many are finding this transition quite stressful. Many people will find the return to the office challenging for reasons including health concerns, the commute and childcare whereas those who struggled with productivity whilst working from home may be more eager to return to the office. The emotions towards this vary from person to person and it is important to recognise each individual’s struggles and for businesses to recognise these individual challenges in how they manage the transition. This could include only bringing back staff that are needed, a greater frequency of cleaning, implementing new rules and systems in the office, and continuing supportive communication established during lockdown periods.
In order to ease the transition back into work, change management strategies can be implemented and followed. We wanted to share a few resources we have found to be useful as we approach a return to the office.
Here is a good list of tips for leaders of organisations to follow when preparing a return to work for themselves and their colleagues, with health concerns at the forefront of managing this change. Due to the fact that organisations can only allow a fraction of their employees to return to the office because of social distancing rules, it is important to remain inclusive in communication with colleagues and employees. Continue to stay in contact with those still working remotely, host meetings virtually so that every employee can feel in the loop.
This article provides advice around accommodation during times of change. This is helpful as it suggests changing what already in order to meet the new needs of the situation and the employees. This also offers strategies to help support employees through change which primarily focuses on those with poor mental health going through change and how to guide them through it. This could be good for leaders to refer to when trying to manage employee anxiety around returning to the office.
A good way to manage the return to work is concentrating on the successes achieved by your teams and employees during lockdown, this article suggests. Using these successes and what employees have done well whilst working from home can be turned into possible victories after returning to the office and tackling the ‘recovery phase’. “As a crisis evolves, your leadership approach needs to change. In the emergency phase, leaders must move to the frontline and fight the fires. In the regression phase, leaders need to step back and contain the emotional turmoil of their teams.”
If you are anxious about returning to the office or are concerned about managing your team when returning to work, give the above resources a read and let us know if they have been helpful for you.
If you have any further concerns or wish to get in touch, you can contact Clare at [email protected] or on +44 7594 946 166.
Written by Siobhan Headd
