The Best Return-to-Office Policies Aren’t One-Size-Fits-All

HBR IdeaCast

Harvard Business Review

Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Communication, Marketing, Business, Business/management, Management, Business/marketing, Business/entrepreneurship, Innovation, Hbr, Strategy, Economics, Finance, Teams, Harvard

4.4 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 2 January 2024

⏱️ 25 minutes

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Summary

A growing number of companies are mandating office time for employees and structuring hybrid work under broad, rigid rules. But pushing people into the office is a mistake, argues Kimberly Shells, a senior director in the Gartner HR practice. She shares research showing how much flexibility and autonomy and belonging workers want. And Shells says organizations can still foster those qualities in an in-person office culture that also improves productivity and collaboration. She explains that companies should follow through on a clear purpose and craft policies that allow for options, flexibility, offsite team-building events, and support services such as on-site childcare. Shells cowrote the HBR article “Return-to-Office Plans Don’t Have to Undermine Employee Autonomy.”

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey everyone it's Kurt we need your help with our annual survey this is your last chance to help us get to know you so we can make idea cast even better for you
0:09.8	it's easy just go to HBR.org
0:13.0	podcast survey.
0:15.0	Again, that's HBR.org.
0:17.0	And thanks for listening. Welcome to the HBRIDIA cast from Harvard Business Review. I'm Kirtnickett. It's wild how things have changed in just three years.
0:49.0	It's wild how things have changed in just three years.
0:53.0	If a company a few years ago had let employees work from home two days a week,
0:58.0	that firm would have been seen as progressive, incredibly trusting, an amazing employer. But today, if that same
1:06.2	firm were to do exactly the same and require workers go into the office three days
1:12.0	a week, it could be seen as heavy-handed, unnecessarily rigid.
1:17.0	That's the fundamental shift that many leaders are struggling with now.
1:22.0	Some want to bring the 2019 office back in the name of
1:25.7	collaboration and company culture, but many employees resist losing the
1:30.6	flexibility and autonomy they gained in the COVID era.
1:34.0	What's the right trade-off?
1:36.0	Well, today's guest says it doesn't have to be one or the other,
1:40.0	that you can bring workers back to the office and still give them flexibility and independence.
1:46.2	Here to explain is Kimberly Shells, a senior director in the Gartner HR practice.
1:51.3	With her colleague Caitlin Duffy she wrote the
1:53.6	HPR article return to office plans don't have to undermine employee autonomy
1:59.1	he can't really I am so happy to be here with you today, Kurt.
2:03.0	So what are companies getting wrong as they try to transition workers back to the office.
	...

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