Employees really like working remotely. The past two-plus years of the coronavirus pandemic has driven that point home again and again. Survey after survey show that most workers not only adapted well to the sudden shift toward telework, but, going forward, many want to continue working remotely at least part of the time.
Naturally, employees like the flexibility and autonomy that remote work offers. For example, a Pew Research Center poll found 64% of those who work from home at least some of the time (but rarely or never did before the pandemic), indicating that it’s easier now for them to balance work with their personal life. Another 44% said that working from home has made it easier for them to get their work done and meet deadlines. Only 10% suggested that working remotely has made doing so more difficult.
That’s not to say that telework doesn’t present certain challenges. The same Pew survey, for instance, saw 60% of respondents saying the move toward more remote work has left them feeling less connected to their co-workers now than before the pandemic.
Indeed, the need for in-person interaction and collaboration has led employers to begin bringing workers back to the office in some capacity, with many adopting a hybrid approach that allows employees to work remotely for part of the week, while requiring them to be onsite other days. So how does an organization maintain a sense of connectedness and continuity with workers spread out across disparate locations?
Making the Adjustment
A recent Federal News Network survey finds some federal employees questioning the need to be in the office at all, even if it’s for just one day out of the week.
The poll of more than 1,100 federal workers asked respondents about their agencies’ return-to-office plans (more than 70% of respondents work in civilian agencies, with 18% in the Defense Department and the rest working either in the intelligence community or for a federal contractor).
According to the survey, about 60% of federal employees currently work in a hybrid environment, 33% work entirely remotely and the rest said they work exclusively in person. Those who work in a hybrid environment are typically teleworking four days per week and are going into the office one day a week.
Overall, most federal employees (more than 60%) expressed satisfaction with their current work situation. Others, however, said the requirement of working in the office at least once a week “was a pain point,” according to a statement summarizing the findings.
“We’ve been fully remote for over two years,” wrote one respondent. “Hybrid is a very difficult adjustment. The mission has been accomplished with no interruptions, so why the requirement to be in the office?”
Some workers said they “didn’t understand the rationale behind coming to the office just one day per week, and that they would prefer to telework every day. And some who were unsatisfied with their work situation said they would have preferred more telework flexibility,” according to Federal News Network.
“All of my work can be done remotely,” another respondent wrote. “There is no need to come to the office to work. My supervisor just likes to have a presence in the office building.”
Still, even with a majority of respondents preferring to work only at home, some federal employees struggle with the aforementioned lack of face-to-face communication with colleagues.
“Employers hide behind screens,” one federal worker lamented. “There is not any way to experience facial expressions [or] non-verbal body language. Being in the office allows for quicker building of work relationships and provides support for camaraderie and better communication.”
Indeed, there are “significant adjustment issues to work out, even still,” one survey participant noted. “Lots of informal communication mechanisms that helped with office culture and work going more smoothly do not exist in a hybrid or remote environment yet.”
The Challenge to Stay Connected
Regardless of how federal employees feel about hybrid work, the consensus is clear: It’s here to stay.
“At this point, more than half of our folks are teleworking or are remote. The office doesn’t look like it used to and it won’t,” one federal employee acknowledged. “We have to embrace something different, even if we don’t know what it looks like or how it will work.”
The need to figure out how to engage and connect with workers in different physical locations will remain, too. David Ulrich, partner at The RBL Group, a Provo, Utah-based consulting and development firm, offers some guidance for organizations trying to find the right balance between remote and in-person work, and maintaining a sense of connectedness among employees.
First, he encourages employers to make sure workers understand they are appreciated.
“Thank [them] for the good work [they] do,” said Ulrich, who is also the Rensis Likert professor at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.
Express that the organization is committed to helping employees meet their personal and professional goals while helping the agency achieve its goals as well, he added.
“Work can be done in lots of places and in lots of ways,” Ulrich said. The organization must make clear to workers that “we want to personalize where and how you work, depending on the nature of your job and your personal choice.”
The agency and its employees also should agree that “wherever and however [employees] work, [employees’] work contributes value to today and tomorrow’s customers,” he said. “So, think about what you do that encourages customers to do business with us.”
Jill Havely, managing director for Willis Towers Watson and lead of its talent line of business for the Midwest region, emphasizes the role of technology in keeping employees connected to each other and to the organization’s mission.
“I think a lot of organizations are struggling with the state of technology,” said Havely.
“The challenge that hybrid work creates is that you have some people who are in the office and others are working remotely. Employers should be investing in technology that helps create environments where people feel like they can be part of in-person meetings even if they are remote. This can be incredibly challenging, because people are working in places across the world.”
Staying connected takes more than simply relying on technology, of course.
“It’s about talking to your employees through organized channels like surveys, focus groups and so on,” said Havely. “You have to hear from them on their expectations for hybrid work, what they need to feel connected, and what they and you can be doing to help create that sense of connection with the organization and with other key team members and colleagues.”
01 January 2023
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February 2023 Issue • HR News Article