Understand Concerns

Consider conducting a pulse survey to better understand employee concerns in returning to the workplace on a full-time basis. After the pandemic, many employees have created routines working in hybrid situation, working a combination of in office and at home. As employees return to the office full time, they may experience an increase in concerns they reported when they returned a few days a week. :

• Commute: Returning to the workplace, those who use public transportation and anticipate heavy traffic are likely to have concerns about traffic.
• Caregiving: Many are currently serving as caregivers to children, people with health and mental health conditions, and the elderly. For caregivers, leaving home to go to work impacts the health of others and the care they provide.
• Disruption to new routines: New routines have been established under hybrid and remote work. A return to the workplace means changing these schedules. Parents will have to adjust childcare plans, caregivers will have to make changes to schedules and appointments, and so on.

Communicate Often and Be Transparent

• Make resources easily accessible: Consider keeping information and resources related to a return to the workplace in a centralized online location, like the Intranet. Remind employees of their benefits and Employee Assistance Programs, which can assist them with resources and planning for their families and loved ones.
• Be transparent: Update employees on policies, procedures, flexible schedules, remaining remote working options, and more.
• Share personal experiences: Encourage staff, especially leadership, to share stories, feelings, and personal experiences related to transition so that people know they are not alone in what they are experiencing.
• Routine check-ins: Make sure people managers are routinely checking in with employees. Consider providing mental health training to managers on how to notice changes, check in with employees they may be concerned about, and connect people to services and support.

Remember Culture Matters

Returning to full-time office work offers employers an opportunity to focus on improving the culture. Culture determines how engaged employees experience their work and how loyal and invested they are in the organization’s mission. A recent Gallup survey discovered that the manager or team leader alone accounted for 70% of the variance in team engagement, emphasizing how managers play a large role in setting company culture.

Strategies that research has shown to improve culture include:

• Promoting Psychological Safety
• Double down on clarity of mission and values
• Help employees find ownership of their work; when possible, allow autonomy
• Connecting Individual job responsibilities to organizational mission, giving employees a sense of purpose.
• Create opportunities to support community among colleagues.

Manage Uncertainty and Unpredictability

Find ways to support employees who may be feeling the uncertainty and unpredictability of transitioning back to the workplace on a full-time basis. Organizations are well-positioned to be a resource for employees by sharing helpful recommendations to manage uncertainty.

Here are tips to consider sharing with employees:

• Prepare yourself to feel a bit lost, it’s ok to feel unsettled.
• Remember that re-engaging with people is good.
• Stay healthy by getting enough sleep, eating well, and engaging in regular physical activity.
• Stay socially connected with loved ones and friends.
• Establish routines to add predictability to your day.

Create Employee Resources on Strategies for Managing Change

Here are tips to consider:

• Recognize that change is normal and acknowledge it for what it is.
• Understand that change often requires some level of flexibility.
• Try to stay positive and find the good in the change.
• Stay in touch with feelings and emotions about the change.
• Create routines and control what you can.

Create Employee Resources on Strategies for Managing Change

Here are tips to consider:

• Recognize that change is normal and acknowledge it for what it is.
• Understand that change often requires some level of flexibility.
• Try to stay positive, find the good in the change.
• Stay in touch with feelings and emotions about the change.
• Create routines and control what you can.

Promote Resiliency

Building and promoting resilience helps employees manage stress and address job challenges. Improving resilience in the workplace is associated with greater job satisfaction, engagement, happiness at work, commitment to the organization, and better overall health.

How can you support and promote resilience in the workplace?

• Encourage and offer opportunities for mindfulness, meditation, and other spiritual practices. For example, you might invite a mindfulness leader to present on the value of the practice and then lead a 15-minute mindfulness break during the workday.
• Work with leaders and managers to model healthy behavior and responses to work challenges. Refocus reactions to challenges to prioritize learning from past mistakes and emphasize the positive moving forward.
• Acknowledge and support people’s strengths and be proactive about validating and celebrating employee "wins" to bolster self-confidence and create a more positive work.

Here are resources from the Center for Workplace Mental Health on resiliency:

• Resilience: A Strong Workforce Needs It
• The Value of Resiliency

Support People Managers

Support managers as they prepare to support their teams through transition in returning to the workplace on a full-time basis.

Normalize their new role in supporting employees throughout this time, whether they’ve been remote or onsite. Support managers as they prepare to support their teams through yet another transition in returning to the workplace.

• Engage in and encourage random acts of kindness, which are often fulfilling.
• Consider mental health training, like the Center for Workplace Mental Health’s Notice.Talk.Act.® at Work, which supports leaders and managers to:
  • Notice potential signs of mental health concerns;
  • Talk with a person about these concerns and
  • Act to connect a person with services and supports.

Tips for managers in leading their team through the transition back-to-the-workplace:

• Be flexible and aware of team members’ schedules, commutes, and work arrangements when setting meeting times, deadlines, and other requirements.
• Create a team culture of caring where feedback is welcomed. Do this by encouraging open communication and dialogue.
• Stay positive, remember to celebrate the team’s successes and small wins.
• Take breaks throughout the day to manage stress as you support your team’s transition.
• Surround yourself with people who enrich you to counter any added stress.

Make Employee Mental Health a Visible Priority

Remind employees about available mental health and well-being resources, including the following:

• Benefits and Resources: Provide a comprehensive list of available mental health and well-being resources, along with contact information for each. Here are resources to consider including:
  • Human Resources Contact for Performance and Related Issues
  • Lead for Health & Mental Health Benefits
  • Digital Health and Mental Health Tools
  • Leave and Accommodation Options
    • Family Medical Leave
    • Short and Long Term Disability
    • ADA and Related Accommodations
  • Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
  • Relevant Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)
• Supplemental Benefits: Consider offering apps that promote mental health and well-being through meditation, coaching, sleep, and more.
• Community Organizations: Share information about community organizations, like the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) that offer support, education, and more for people living with mental health conditions and their families.
• Stress Management: Ofer guidance on how to promote health and well-being throughout the day. Encourage activities like yoga, mindfulness, and meditation, or even a mid-day trip to the gym to help alleviate stress.
• Launch a Mental Health and Well-being Initiative: Think about launching a mental health and well-being initiative to accompany the return to the workplace. Consider adding a new benefit as a perk to accompany the launch. Check out Right Direction for high-impact, customizable resources on raising depression awareness and launching mental health workplace initiatives.

References

1. Can Return To Office Work In 2025? These 3 Wellness Strategies Help (Forbes.com)
2. Return to Office (Shrm.org)
3. How to Implement an Effective Return-to-Office Strategy (Shrm.org)
4. Here's how some large employers are stepping up return-to-office mandates this year (Costar.com)
5. KPMG 2024 U.S. CEO Outlook (Kpmg.com)

More References