Employers have quite a task on their hands if they are to persuade employees to return, and stem the flow of talent looking to continue working remotely. Life under COVID-19 has opened people’s eyes to another way of working. Employers must therefore prioritise the employee experience, and rethink how the office should function in this new normal.

Missing the office

The proportion of people working from home rose from 5.7% in January 2020 to more than 43% at the height of the pandemic. While it was a necessity to begin with, it soon became the preferred way of working for many. Eliminating commuting time and costs, allowing flexibility around childcare, and generally offering a better work/life balance. It’s perhaps unsurprising that almost a third of workers said they’d prefer not to go back to the office any time soon.

Indeed, a recent US survey found that workers missed many aspects of office working. 42%, for example, said they missed the regular structure of reporting to their workplace, 61% missed in-person conversations with their colleagues, and 40% were nostalgic for lunches and happy hours with their fellow workers.

Interestingly, none of these aspects were concerned with the work itself, more the workplace culture. As Victoria Robinson, a partner at PwC, points out, “how and where we all work best … is unique to each and every one of us. Understanding and addressing that is at the heart of this issue.”

Employers must take this on board if they are to succeed in encouraging people back into the workplace. Otherwise, they may lose those employees altogether.

Social company culture

Now, more than ever, offices should be more than just places where people meet to work.

People have become so accustomed to communicating via Zoom or Teams - for the most part successfully - over the past two years that it’s important to reevaluate why spending time in the office again is important. Primarily it should be about spending time in the company of others, whether that’s in face-to-face meetings, conversations with neighbouring colleagues, or informal social interactions over lunch or coffee.

Employers should discourage the traditional “grab and go” lunch break, for example, in which workers eat a salad or sandwich at their desk. The average worker’s midday break currently lasts 29 minutes, during which many will continue working either due to a lack of time or a lack of a suitable environment to take a break and recharge over lunch. A change in mindset is needed, therefore, to encourage and facilitate the moments of social interaction that employees have been missing.

Providing employees with a fully-stocked fridge and a communal area in which employees can share mealtimes with colleagues is a convenient and affordable alternative. Some new ‘canteen’ solutions on the market even offer companies fresh food options for their employees through ‘smart fridges’ or on-demand meals, providing more flexibility and bypassing the set up of traditional canteens which can be prohibitively expensive. Above all these types of communal areas can contribute to a more cohesive, friendly and – importantly – social company culture.

Happy and productive

According to one survey, working from home meant two thirds of people felt less connected to their colleagues, with three in five saying they felt isolated. This sense of disconnection can lead to struggles with mental health. Indeed, a recent study led by the World Health Organisation estimated that mental health issues cost the global economy US$ 1 trillion each year in lost productivity. It’s vital, therefore, that as employers look to bring people back to the workplace, they give serious consideration to making employees happy and productive.

Not everyone wants to return to the office. But for those that do, it’s crucial that employers rethink the purpose and the future of the workplace. Post-pandemic, it needs to be as much a place of social interaction as it is a place of work. Enabling this, by providing opportunities for social interaction and meaningful engagement will allow employers to prioritise a happy workforce and, in turn, a more productive and profitable business.

Renaud Barnoin is General Manager Foodles UK