Is It Worth It To Me?
I was talking to my niece recently about her return to work in person. She is a media/communications specialist in higher education, based in the UK. She said that without the ability to work remotely as well as in person, she would go crazy: too many meetings on-site, and no time to get her work done! I was reminded of some of my reading and research about the “new world of work” we are entering, since offices have begun to re-open and many employees are now required to return to work in person. Digging further into my niece’s comment made me think more about the potential value of returning to the office, and how many professionals, like my niece, need to know whether or not it’s worth it to them.
One thing we do know is that in general, as a result of the pandemic and working from home, workers feel more empowered. This access to their own confidence about their work and what it entails, can only be seen as a good thing. They have understood more about what goes into making the organization work, details and big picture, and learned more about the personalities and propensities of their peers and their supervisors as they have—almost literally—entered into their homes via Zoom, met their families, dogs and cats and perhaps even seen their pajamas. This increased confidence will provide the opportunity for leaders to identify up-and-coming professionals or high potentials, since it has been fairly typical that the roles that people play were necessarily changed and mixed up in order to respond to the exigencies of the pandemic. Ultimately increased empowerment improves both psychological safety and also creates generative space for sharing ideas and giving voice to valuable opinions throughout the organization. Improved personal and professional power can more readily be recognized by leaders when team members return to the office, and it will translate into increased productivity—young professionals, like my niece, therefore should be attended to when they lament the need to return.
Another thing we know is that people pretty much hate meetings! Any gathering across administrative roles for 60-90 minutes will rarely be a good use of time for everyone in the room. People pay attention to what relates to them and switch off when the topic shifts. As a leader, I always hoped that my senior team meetings brought folks up to speed, helped everyone know what others were doing and moved forward the work of the organization. Wrong! Meetings are boring—mostly because they are passive.
Back to my niece’s comment. Could we alter the way we do meetings, or any group sessions, and instead focus at the highest priority level on the occasions when the whole team is back in the office in other ways: Why are they there? How will we make their being there worthwhile for each of them? And how might we leverage on-site togetherness as a plus for the organization?
In her engaging and helpful article: In the Hybrid Era, On-Sites Are the New Off-Sites, Erika Keswin writing for Harvard Business Review (January 2022), describes the necessary intentionality behind bringing the team back synchronously. Keswin begins by reminding us of the classic off-sites or retreats that many firms relied on to bring their team together: working on a common project with a facilitator, taking the time to accomplish a goal, like climbing a mountain, as a team-building activity, or visiting a museum exhibit together—all aimed to create a truly common shared experience. She then asks us to consider how we might integrate these kinds of excursions out of the quotidian into an on-site experience when the team is back in the office together. Vital components of doing this well are: that the experience is based on company values, ideally creates a kind of ritual, and, most importantly, is something that if you miss it, you would regret not having been part of something special.
Professional growth and development on the job and for the job are worthwhile and doing this work together frequently builds teams in vital ways. During the pandemic there seemed to be less time for this important work and doing it on Zoom was often more transactional than process driven. As we seek to re-integrate professional growth as a value into the workplace, might a varied range of on-site opportunities accomplish several goals? First, it would enable us to clarify organizational values and ensure that they are shared across company disciplines. Second, it ensures that the organization is elevating expectations of belonging and ownership. And, third, if done well, this work might be just the ticket to vouchsafe that employees will say yes to that question: Is it worth it to me?
Towards the end of the HBR article I quoted earlier, the author provides us with a nifty little test to see if changes like these make being at the office vital and not-to-be-missed. Keswin’s work that inspired the article was with a company called EA Markets. In her research, Keswin used the question: When do employees feel most “EA-ish”? Consider how this question drives you to understand, and then perhaps develop new thinking about organizational values. What makes it worthwhile is what describes the unique and compelling nature of your workplace—that’s what makes people show up every day and ultimately might help you sort through the balance of in-person, from home and hybrid working, what’s required and what can be left to the individual.
Definitely worth it.