Calling employees back to the office can have meaningful effects on intent to stay, discretionary effort and engagement but, notably, it shows NO effect on performance. See the full data: https://gtnr.it/3UNXaQa Gartner for HR | #GartnerHR #HumanResources #RTO #Talent
Dad, what were your best work experiences? Me - travelling, meeting people, chatting about complete rubbish, having a laugh, meeting tight deadlines together, having someone to tap on the shoulder, a sense of belonging. Only some of the above relate to performance, but they are parts of life that stick with you forever, are great memories and character building. Not sat at home, behind a screen, everything scheduled to the last minute. As you get older and have en established career, it’s fine, but as an entrant from college or uni etc I just don’t believe it’s conducive to any of the above. Why would you want to spend all that time in education then find yourself sat in your room or at the kitchen table sharing your work space with your parents? You won’t be moving out soon so that’s how it is. It wouldn’t be for me. Agree, we can’t dictate, life is about choices but let’s not use performance as a driver to living our best worklife.
Gartner's findings about bringing employees back to the office bring up an important point. While coming back to the office can boost employees' engagement and effort, it doesn't seem to improve their performance. From an employee's perspective, this is worth noting. Many have shown they can perform well while working remotely. Returning to the office might help people feel more connected and motivated, but it doesn't make them better at their jobs. Companies should think carefully about this. They need to balance the benefits of being in the office, like better engagement, with the advantages of remote work, such as flexibility and better work-life balance. A mix of both might be the best solution for keeping employees happy and productive.
Great data driven analysis. In conclusion, hire more high preforming employees and let them run. Hire ‘average’ and micromanage to get maybe marginal improvements in discretionary effort and keep replacing them AND their high performing colleagues with the highest turnover makes employers feel better and in control’ but lose a LOT in the process. Seems straightforward enough but ego gets in the way. Companies that don’t trust their employees and don’t create the right environment for their success are living in the past. Trust does not mean not managing.
The analysis seems to cover only as on date performance in existing roles, would have been interesting to see what impact it has on the suitability for the next-level roles....especially for aspiring people managers
Times change and employers need to change with them. What worked for employees in the 80's and 90's might not work for them today. Every person works differently.
Very interesting - engagement is easier when you are in the office, but focus can be better away so hybrid makes sense.
Wow! Best to think twice before requiring employees to come back to the office. You may lose good people.
So it proves that WFH is superior working mode?
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2moThey have been asking the wrong question since the beginning of this debate. The question isn't "Should everyone be back to the office, hybrid, or work from home" but rather the question I have not heard asked is, "What can we learn from the Covid work from-home mandate and the way employees rapidly and almost seamlessly adapted to the change, and how can we apply that learning to improve productivity, engagement, performance, job satisfaction, life balance, and retention?" I have seen very little effort to learn from the crisis and too much effort to "get back to normal." You don't need a study to see that putting everyone in the same building does not create collaboration, culture, and engagement. Trusting, valuing, and engaging people does--not matter where they do their work.