Return-to-office mandates have made headlines in the past year. RTO mandates have been issued by Amazon, AT&T, IBM, Ford, JPMorgan and others.
Despite these back-to-office statements, hybrid work is still a thing. As JLL analysts commented in a recently released Workforce Preference Barometer survey, “not all office attendance policies are created equal.”
To that end, the survey noted that:
- Employees appreciate office environments where business needs and well-being are balanced, and there are opportunities to learn and grow
- Office design, social infrastructure and mobility support lead to higher satisfaction.
- Hybrid policies lacking the above create negative views of the organization.
As such, “(employees’) concern is less about returning to the office and more about the lack of support that makes it a comfortable and worthwhile experience,” the JLL analysts noted.
Furthermore, employees who regard hybrid policies negatively also demonstrate quality of life concerns, feelings of being stuck, and a belief that they’ve been let down. This leads to burnout—the JLL survey pointed out that “nearly 40% of global office workers report they feel overwhelmed or exhausted.” Burnout can lead to overall employee disengagement in the forms of clockwatching, quiet quitting, quiet cracking, job hugging and more.
Employee disengagement is not only costly (a single disengaged employee costs approximately $2,246 annually), but it also brings down an entire workforce, leading to decreased productivity and innovation and an increase in errors and stress.
In discussing how employers can improve office environments within a hybrid work strategy, JLL analysts suggested that higher engagement means a better delivery of the workspace and experience. Within the physical office space, employers might consider:
- Coordinating employees’ locations and presence to make the commute to the office worthwhile
- Developing pleasant office spaces to include high-end finishes, amenities, tasty food options and social spaces
- Leveraging technologies to make office spaces more responsible, collaborative and accessible
- Using the physical space to boost corporate culture and professional growth
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