Socializing Needs to Be Considered in Return-to-Work Plans

As the global health crisis winds down, employers and employees are wondering what the future of work will look like. Some understand that flexibility and autonomy are critical for retaining top talent, while others are taking a more rigid approach—demanding that employees return to the office or risk losing their jobs. However, office occupancies are well below pre-pandemic levels, holding at 47 percent capacity. It’s clear that workers won’t want to return to the office unless the value proposition makes sense. One well-known company, though, seems to have cracked the code. According to Microsoft research, 84 percent of employees said they would be motivated to return to the office if more social time was built into their schedules, and 70 percent said they would come in if they knew their work friends or direct team members would be there. This especially holds true for younger Gen Z and millennial employees surveyed, 78 percent of whom said they were particularly motivated by social factors. Heidi Brooks, a senior lecturer at Yale University’s School of Management said, “We don’t just work for the sake of productivity or transactional reasons like being able to pay our bills. We also work because it’s meaningful to us and brings us a sense of belonging to something larger than ourselves ... social connection enlivens and animates these feelings of belonging and joy.”