Heading Back to the Office: An Employee's Guide

Many businesses are preparing to transition employees back to offices, either to alleviate the stress of isolation or simply to stay afloat financially. Whatever the reason, keeping employees safe means employers must overcome a variety of hurdles, including adhering to new health and safety regulations that will likely include all-new considerations such as contact tracing and keeping employees properly distanced using space management tools.

- GADJO SEVILLA

Even established business processes—especially people-centric vectors like human resources—will need to adopt new solutions, such as building a hybrid staffing model using remote workforce management tools. That’s a considerable challenge for most employers, but it’s not the only challenge. Employees, too, need to adjust their perspectives carefully when considering a return to the office. That means taking a close look at every part of the workday, from resuming a daily commute to where and exactly how you intend to perform work in a new kind of office population.

Before that, start by considering whether you want to go back to an office at all. If working at home suits you, then the best way to pitch this shift to your employer is not just to ask, but to ask with a plan. Work with HR on exactly how a shift to working entirely from home would work, and explore available tools and technologies to find new ways to help. Most employers are more receptive to this concept than they’ve ever been, especially to a “hybrid” work scenario where employees work partly at home and partly in the office.

If a return to work, even just a partial return, is in your immediate future, then it’s in your best interest to be as involved with your employer’s planning process as possible. Find out who is on point for organizing the office reopening and be sure to discuss the following issues with them.

GETTING IN THE DOOR