We’ve been hearing a lot from clients who want to bring all their employees back into the office to improve productivity and collaboration, and to create a more cohesive work culture.
However, many employees have experienced the benefits of increased work flexibility during the COVID pandemic, spending less time commuting, more time with friends and family, and investing in themselves.
There’s a delicate balance between employer desires to get workers in the workplace and employee expectations around flexible work.
A recent survey by recruitment firm Robert Half found nearly 90% of Australian employers (including big companies like Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank) were mandating staff to come to the workplace, but 31% had lost at least one employee as a result and 40% expect to lose more.
So we thought it was time to explore the issues around return-to-office mandates, including legal matters, some common problems we’re seeing, and how you can make the hybrid-work model work for your organisation and people.
Note: This discussion only applies to workers that are able to perform their role from outside the workplace.
The armwrestle: employee vs employer requirements
In the past few years, we’ve obviously seen a big shift towards workplace flexibility and employees are now prioritising workplaces that support work-from-home and other flexible arrangements.
Research by Centre for the New Workforce found 4 out of 5 Australian workers expect flexible working arrangements as part of their job and around 2 in 3 are prepared to forgo some level of pay increase to achieve flexible working.
Flexible work supports better wellbeing outcomes because it gives people more time and control over their lives, while most workers have proven they can perform their duties from home without any real loss of productivity.
But, as the Robert Half survey found, employers overwhelmingly want their people back on site, if not full time, then at least part of the time. They cite better face-to-face meetings, improved productivity and corporate culture, ease of managing teams, and better employee career progression as reasons for in-office requirements.
In light of these conflicting motivations, employers need to carefully manage return-to-office mandates or be prepared to accept employee resignations and potential difficulties in attracting fresh talent.
The legal stuff
When considering making employees return to the office, there are some legal considerations employers need to factor in.
Case law has established that there is no stand-alone legal right for an employee to work from home. However, employee entitlements to flexible work arrangements have been expanded under the Fair Work Act, as well as employer obligations to consider and respond to requests.
From there, the contract of employment (and any applicable modern award or registered agreement) provides the basis for workplace conditions. Most people employed pre-COVID would have a specific work address as the location of work, if it was filled out correctly at the time the contract was issued. In these cases, you could legally mandate all employees to return to that work address.
From there, it comes down to whether the direction is lawful and reasonable, which it typically would be unless the employee has some sort of underlying health concern or something that's preventing them from returning to the workplace.
For award-covered employees, returning to the workplace may be considered a major workplace change, so any award requirements around consultation would apply in terms of providing notice, discussing the change with them, and considering any feedback they put forward.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on how the Fair Work Commission handles the Finance Sector Union’s challenge to the Commonwealth Bank’s mandate that workers spend 50% of their time at the office - the FSU says the bank ignored the enterprise agreement and failed to properly consult workers.
Communication and trust are key, as always
Regardless of whether there’s a legal imperative to discuss a return-to-office requirement, consultation with employees always gets better results.
Most worker's lives have changed over the past three years and it wasn’t that long ago that people were being ordered to work from home during lockdowns. A lot of employees are now used to having some flexibility and being able to balance work and other commitments. It’s best to acknowledge this by giving workers a say in how they continue to structure their working life.
A key part of any employment relationship is trust. Trust that a worker knows what they are doing and can be productive working remotely. Trust an employee has in their employer to treat them fairly and support them. Simply ordering employees back to the office without consultation is likely to damage that trust.
Emphasise the benefits
If your employees are struggling to understand the reasons for getting them back into the office, take some time to explain and clarify. There is research to back claims that being in a workplace as a team fosters innovation and knowledge-sharing, and builds connection and a sense of belonging. Your workers might not know this.
Be open (and realistic) about what you want to achieve. If you're instructing workers to come into the office to build culture and relationships, you should allow them time to socialise and get coffees or go to lunch together.
Make sure the office is fit-for-purpose
Don’t get people into the office if they can’t all fit and work comfortably.
We know businesses that have downsized their footprints over the past few years while keeping the same staff numbers. Others have grown over the past few years but their workspace hasn’t. Getting your employees into the office but then having them battle for desks or work in unsuitable locations isn’t going to get the benefits you’re hoping for (or ensure you meet your work health and safety obligations).
You don’t have to be like LinkedIn, which has 75 different types of work settings in its San Francisco office, but there’s increasing evidence that workers need spaces that allow them to focus and be stimulated, as well as to collaborate.
Our advice: Try and make the hybrid model work
Rather than seeing flexible work arrangements as a perk or benefit, employees now prioritise and expect them, and it is hard to imagine that changing.
Our advice to employers is to look at ways to utilise the hybrid work model (a mix of in-the-office and remote work) in a way that benefits both the organisation and your team members.
There isn't really a one-size-fits-all approach as the business’ needs and individual circumstances can differ greatly. We recommend creating a baseline flexible work policy that sets out the general guidelines around how your team should go about working in a hybrid environment and what your expectations are. It may be mandating workers come in for one day a week and setting a maximum of four, and allowing people to choose their days.
Then be prepared to have conversations with employees’ about does or doesn’t work for them and what the business would be willing to support in terms of deviating from the policy.
Also, be strategic around where work is performed and why. On-site work could centre around collaboration and connecting with colleagues and managers, whereas remote work could be more about focused or independent tasks.
Flexibility should also mean trialling different approaches to see what works and what doesn't, and making changes to get the best outcomes.
Watch out for “phoney flexibility”
If you are going to offer flexibility, make sure you’re actually committed to it. We’ve seen employers say they offer flexible work arrangements but then be very rigid about when people come to the office or how employees manage their work.
It’s better to approach it with the mindset that a portion of your employees’ time is going to be spent away from the office. Give your people a bit more autonomy to be able to assess their own time and workloads. Also, make sure everyone has the right equipment to work remotely, and invest in good software and systems that make communication with colleagues and managers easy and efficient.
