There Won’t Be An ‘Epic Return’ To Work Or School Because We Don’t Know How To Do In-Person

About a year into the pandemic, I was taking part in a Zoom discussion about the future of work with several C-level executives. The discussion veered into a debate about how much there would be a true return to the office vs. a more permanent embrace of hybrid or fully remote work. A participant, who was a senior executive at one of the world’s largest commercial real estate firms, enthusiastically exclaimed “it’s going to be an epic return to the office!” It was said as a matter of fact, with no real rationale behind why or how that would happen. It was almost like an assumption that everyone would return just ‘because…’ Because that is what we have always known – going to a place of work. What it made me wonder, though, was: what would compel people to come back to the office – or school or campus – beyond ‘just because?’

The answer – so far – is nothing but mandates. Since the pandemic, K12 and college enrollments are down. Office occupancy is at half capacity. And much of that has been driven by mandatory policies forcing employees back, despite a massive gap in their desires to do so. If leaders believe that returning to work is so important, you would think they’d invest some real energy and imagination in how to make it really attractive to do so. Sure, there are the examples of offering free lunches to lure folks back. But what really have we done beyond a few simple (and largely traditional) incentives? Prior to the pandemic, we were never forced to think carefully about what the ultimate appeal is of coming to a place of learning or work. And now that we are faced with such a question, we seem to be doing a lot of fumbling around.

Workers and students are clear on what they want most in coming back to a workplace or school: socialization. According to Microsoft’s Work Trends Index, 85% of employees say they would be motivated to go into the office to rebuild team bonds, if they could socialize with co-workers (84%), if they knew their “work friends” were there (74%), or if they knew their direct team members were there (73%). Students have very similar reasons for wanting to return to campus. The big question is: do we really know how to foster socialization in the workplace and at school? In the past, has it happened more by accident or through intentional efforts? And do we know how to do it now in an age of social media saturation and amidst an epidemic of loneliness?

Organizations across the globe have been wrestling with the formula for in-person vs. remote or online by trying to achieve the right balance or mix of the two modalities. That hasn’t gotten us very far. It is likely much more important to radically rethink the “why” and “how” of in-person learning and work. The quality – not quantity – of office and school time is paramount to success. Many cite “creativity” and “teamwork” as things that are much better done in-person, over the water cooler, etc. But have we have fully teased this out just yet? As online tools and software for collaborating online are growing and improving every day, can the same be said for “how we do in-person?” Is the quality or efficacy of our in-person time improving at the same rate as that of our online or remote time?

What would an ‘epic return to school and work’ look like? It is likely not about having students use their Chromebooks or iPads in the classroom. Nor having workers sit at their computers in the office. It is probably not about sitting at a table together with our phones in hand. We should be invested in doing the uniquely human things that can only be done in person. But what, really, are those things? If we go by what employees and students tell us, work and school will almost entirely become places for socializing. Does this suggest recess, lunch, gym and nap time as the winning formula? (Add in cocktail hour for the over 21 crowd.) For many people, a desire to return to work or school will be about addressing much deeper issues including the myriad toxic work and school cultures (racism, sexism, bullying, etc.). On this front, the real challenge will be how we create a true sense of belonging.

Much has been studied and written about the importance of well-being, safety and security, building relationships and creating inclusion. Although we know the ingredients for return-to-office and school success, we are unsure of the exact recipe and how to cook the meal that makes it all come together. Until or unless we figure that out, students and workers will increasingly choose to stay on the remote sidelines. There will be no epic return to in-person because we don’t know how to do in-person.