Ever since the pandemic took over every aspect of our lives, we’ve had to adjust to various changes on a societal, professional, and personal level. One of those changes was everyone working remotely while social life came to a grinding halt. Now that things are easing up, many companies are looking to get workers back to the office. This may not be as smooth a move as many hope.
At HiCounselor we like to see people make the most of their professional lives. That’s why we’ve compiled some information below on the best way to reopen the office to avoid a negative impact. If you’re looking for a job and aren’t getting the best results, contact us and let our experts handle the job search for you!
1. Be Adaptable
There’s no fixed guide on how to reopen your office as each set-up is different and requires a nuanced approach. Risk tolerance will be different from company to company and person to person. The safety precautions that can be applied will also vary. Each organization will have to make educated guesses after taking in all the information available.
2. Apply Safety Measures
Depending on how your particular office works, you’ll need to have some safety precautions in place when you reopen the office. You can limit the amount of physical contact between employees by having them work in shifts, spacing the workplace out a bit, streamlining the workflow, etc. You can also put hand sanitizers at strategic places in the office.
3. Ask Employees Their Preferences
Different industries have had different responses to reopening their offices. Some jobs are easily done from home and many of those employees are reluctant to do the 9 to 5 thing again. Other employees are unmotivated working alone at home and looking forward to getting back to the old way of doing things. You can send out an anonymous survey to get honest results.
4. Think Hybrid
If you’re like most offices reopening after the pandemic, you’ll probably have employees that want WFH and those who want to work at the office. You don’t have to pick a winning side; you can simply opt for a hybrid option. That means employees come to the office on certain days or for certain hours. This might even allow you to create more space in the office if everyone isn’t coming in at the same time.
5. Don’t Force Things
A survey by Bloomberg found that 39% of employees would quit their jobs if they didn’t get different flexible work options. The percentage was 49% for millennials and Gen Z. This fact seems to be borne out with the ‘Great Resignation’ occurring in several industries. You might end up losing your talent pool if you force people to come to the office daily.
6. Approach With Empathy
If you’re reopening your office, some employees might reach out to explain why this doesn’t work for them. Try to not get offended and insist they rejoin. Instead, try to understand where they’re coming from. There are still variants of the virus being found, which makes people worried for their health. Some employees might prefer to not get vaccinated. Others may have sick relatives in their care. If you want to retain employees, try to empathize with what they may be feeling.
7. Stay Aware of Gender Disparity
This pandemic was much tougher on female professionals according to several surveys. They not only lost their jobs in bigger numbers, they also had to shoulder a big bulk of the housework without any external help. For many women, this pandemic has changed how they live and work. You might need to change and adjust your hybrid plans for some female employees to be able to work from the office.
8. Be Slow & Steady
With the ‘Great Resignation’ in full swing, there are some changes companies need to bring in to retain employees. Reopening the office isn’t going to be a smooth transition, no matter how well you prepare for it. People have gotten used to a new lifestyle over these past two years and it’ll take some time to readjust to corporate life. Gradually ease employees back instead of expecting everything to be ‘back to normal’ on Day One.
9. Keep Everyone Informed
As you reopen your office and ease your employees back to the daily grind, make sure you dispense helpful information. That includes telling them about updated safety precautions, any new processes being implemented, any changes in the workflow, company healthcare updates, etc. This will go a long way in making your employees trust you and want to keep working for you.
We hope these tips help you reopen your office more smoothly! Of course, if your office life isn’t something you want to get back to, contact HiCounselor and tell our experts about the kind of job you’d like. We not only shoulder the burden of the job search, we also only take payment once we’ve gotten you a job!
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