Returning to the Office: How to Infuse In-Person Work with Purpose

As numerous companies and several prominent government agencies mandate a return to office for most or all employees, it's important to acknowledge that many folks are now accustomed to working from home—and some highly prefer it. This shift back to the office is not just a significant change; it could actually be just as disruptive as the initial pivot to remote work.

If you hold a leadership role in your organization or manage people, you can transform your organization’s return to the office into a period of growth and enhanced productivity. Here are five ways you can intentionally craft valuable in-person experiences to help retain top talent and reap the benefits of in-person work.

Onboard Everyone

Returning to the office can feel like starting a new job, with different ways of working and unfamiliar expectations. So why not treat it like a new employee onboarding process that’s created for ALL employees? Hosting an employee onboarding session for everyone expected to return to the office can make things a little easier. Session activities could include a tour of the office, introductions to key team members, and a review of updated office policies and procedures.

Onboarding can help:

• Set clear expectations. Explain what has changed and what remains the same. Transparent communication can help alleviate anxiety and confusion.
• Build community. Use this opportunity to strengthen connections within your team. Onboarding team-building exercises can help employees feel more connected.
• Provide resources. Share tools to help employees adapt to their new work environment. Whether it's a quick guide on new office protocols or access to mental health resources, make sure they know where to find support.

Organize Weekly Swarm or Sprint Sessions

If your employees are going to come into the office, make it worth their while. One way to do this is by organizing weekly "swarm” or “sprint” sessions on a particular topic. A swarm is a collaborative problem-solving session where everyone contributes their ideas, whereas a sprint is a focused period of work on a specific task or project. This could be an in-person brainstorming session, a lunch-and-learn, or another collaborative activity. 

These sessions can:

• Increase purposeful interactions. Sessions shouldn't be designed to accomplish something that can't be done remotely. This makes the in-office experience unique and valuable.
• Boost creativity. Face-to-face interactions can lead to more dynamic brainstorming and problem-solving.
• Strengthen team bonds. Spending time together in a structured setting can enhance teamwork and camaraderie.

Create "No-Meeting" Zones

In the hustle and bustle of office life, it’s easy to get trapped in back-to-back meetings. To combat this, create no-meeting zones on everyone's calendar for at least two hours each week. Block off the time on the calendar and set a reminder to ensure everyone respects this dedicated time for deep work and getting into a state of flow.

No-meeting zones can help: 

• Increase productivity. Uninterrupted time allows employees to focus and produce higher-quality work.
• Reduce burnout. Constant meetings can be exhausting. Giving employees time to work independently can help reduce stress.
• Encourage innovation. With fewer distractions, employees may develop creative solutions to ongoing challenges.

Make it Social

Workers often say they don’t miss their physical office; they miss the people they used to spend time in person with, according to a Harvard Business Review report culled from a Microsoft Work Trend Index survey of 20,000 people across 11 countries. The survey revealed that:

• 85% of employees would be motivated to go into the office to rebuild team bonds.
• 84% of employees would be motivated to go into the office if they could socialize with coworkers.
• 74% of employees would go to the office more frequently if they knew their "work friends" were there.
• 73% of employees would go to the office more frequently if they knew their direct team members would be there.¹

Remote work can feel transactional, whereas in-person opportunities can be serendipitous! Returning to the office gives existing employees the opportunity to renew social bonds and offers new employees easier ways to establish them. By designing and prioritizing in-person experiences where colleagues can share a meal, problem-solve, or get to know one another, you can: 

• Drive innovation. Cross-functional teams, spontaneous encounters, and physical settings equipped with tactile and visual tools set the right conditions for innovation.
• Improve teamwork. Trust is built and psychological safety increases when team members spend time together, share meaningful tasks, face uncertainty together, and rely on one another for help.²
• Accelerate learning. Learning FROM others is good, but learning WITH others is better. When colleagues learn together, they engage more deeply with the content, and the share experience reinforces knowledge retention.³ Having built-in accountability buddies also enhances the likelihood that people will effectively apply what they've learned to work.

Commit to Optimal Meeting Hygiene

Let’s admit it: we've all grown a little lazy. Instead of sending an email, picking up the phone, or stopping by a colleague's office to offer quick situational awareness, we schedule a meeting. Many organizations fall prey to the nudge of ease and convenience by automatically appending a Teams link to every invite. But introducing meeting discipline to your organization can free up employees to focus on their work and spend more time with colleagues.

By optimizing your organization's meetings protocols, you can:

• Stop wasting time. Ask for an agenda for every meeting you're invited to. No agenda equals no meeting. No equities on the agenda? Skip it.
• Limit distractions. No one is fully present when looking at their phone. Even a quick glance can tear attention away from engaging with colleagues and noticing nonverbal cues. Ask colleagues to deposit their phones in a basket before meetings start to enable their full focus.
• Increase efficiency. Review actions items from the last meeting, then assign clear owners and set deadlines if actions remain incomplete. Stick to the agenda. By ending five minutes early for 30-minute meetings and 10 minutes early for hour-long meetings, you can increase everyone's satisfaction and engender goodwill for future meetings.
• Close information gaps. Assign team members on a rotating basis to capture a summary of conclusions, decision points, and action items in bullet points and send them out after the meeting.

Returning to the office is more than just a logistical challenge; it's an opportunity to rethink how we work and support our teams. By providing comprehensive onboarding, creating meaningful in-person interactions, and ensuring uninterrupted work time, you can make the transition smoother and create the experiences employees want and need.