Manage The Great Return

Over 2 years since the pandemic sent us to work from our homes overnight, many organizations are now calling their staff back into the workplace. Some are continuing 100 percent remote work, others are looking to bring their employees back full time in the office. Most are electing a hybrid approach of sorts.

If you are a leader in an organization that is bringing employees back to the physical workplace, even in a hybrid environment, you likely know that not all of your employees are embracing this decision. And as we re-enter our brick and mortar workplaces, it’s an opportunity to reflect as we look at how to best lead our staff through this transition. The pandemic has taken its toll on all of us, to varying degrees. Some have lost loved ones. Others have lost their jobs as a result of reduced in-person gatherings. All of us have lost some aspect of in-person connection at the very least.

And yet, like all aspects of life, nothing is just good or bad, or black and white. Some have gained hours back in their day that were previously spent commuting. New hobbies and routines have been established, as well as new connections and ways of working. Resilient practices have been built.

Like any chapter closing or ending, it is not an exaggeration to highlight that employees are going through a grief and change process. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross first identified the 5 Stages of Grief® and later adapted it to the Kubler-Ross Change Curve®. It is not an understatement that along with a desire to reconnect again, staff may not be embracing the return to the workplace. Both things can be true simultaneously.

As with any grief, this process is not linear. We will see progress towards acceptance, and then a slip back to anger. How can we best support our teams through these changes?

  1. Be patient. Not everyone is going to embrace this change, and certainly not at the same pace. Let people lean into the changes at their own pace. Forcing it will backfire.

  2. Create an environment that embraces failures. Return to the workplace IS going to be bumpy. There is new technology, new processes for including staff in person and at home. Allow for bumbles, learn from the process. Create a team environment that allows for a growth mindset. What can you and your team learn from this? How can you use this experience to grow stronger and more adaptable to meet your goals?

  3. Build resilient practices. Put your oxygen mask on yourself and encourage your staff to do the same. Build practices to reflect, breathe, move, get outside, and take vacations.

  4. Communicate. Talk to your staff. Tell them how decisions are being made. More importantly, listen. Listen to what they need, and how they can best be supported.

Need additional support? Reach out to us to discuss your needs and how we can best support this transition!

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