Following the lifting of restrictions many companies initially continued to allow their staff to work remotely. For example, in February 2022, 84% of workers in the UK who were required to work from home due to the pandemic reported that they planned to work in a hybrid manner, splitting their time between their offices and their homes.
Now, however, it seems that an increasing number of employees will not get to make this decision themselves, as companies around the world push for a return to the office. Amazon, one of the world’s largest employers, for instance, announced in September that their return-to-office policy would see workers in office five days a week starting in 2025.
Many association leaders are also weighing up their stance on the issue, and this article will consider some of the most prominent arguments for and against a return-to-office policy, examining its effect on teams’ productivity and individuals’ well-being.
Improving Productivity
A loss of collaboration and innovation are core concerns for those favouring a return-to-office. Without spontaneous and more regular interactions, some feel that the capacity for problem-solving and creative teamwork are drastically reduced.
As part of their 2024 Association Economic Outlook Report, Marketing General Incorporated, gathered data from 330 associations on the topic of remote work. When asked what concerns, if any, association leaders had relating to a partially or fully remote workforce, 60% of survey respondents reported worries that there would be fewer opportunities for organic communication and relationship-building. Fears of decreased collaboration among employees were expressed by 47%.
The same report showed that association leaders had concerns relating to the onboarding and training of staff in a distributed work environment, and around one third saw the effective management of staff as potentially problematic. While technology – such as video conferencing, virtual whiteboarding and task management tools – can certainly help mitigate these concerns, many leaders remain uneasy about the loss of regular, organic touchpoints within their workforce.
There is, however, evidence which points in the other direction, in favour of flexible working. Gallup data shows that remote and hybrid employees across the world are more engaged than onsite workers, and this correlates to a heightening of productivity and performance. When surveyed, HR leaders at Fortune 500 companies seemed to support these statistics, with 41% of those at companies with the most flexible working arrangements claiming that productivity had increased in the past year, compared to 32% of those in firms who required staff to be in the office four or five days per week.
The data seems to suggest that employees perform at their best when their needs are being met both at work and at home, and that policies which encourage employee well-being and a balanced work-life arrangement yield the best results.
Furthering Flexibility & Well-Being
Attracting and retaining top performers is a common complaint among association leaders. As part of their 2024 mid-year State of Associations report, Wiplfi – an accounting and consulting firm – surveyed 228 association leaders in order to understand how they were navigating their current challenges. A staggering 70% of the survey panel reported that they struggle with employee retention, and that many of this group had adjusted their remote working policies in order to remedy this problem.
Research by McKinsey shows that the majority of employees value the opportunity to work remotely as a top company benefit, citing less fatigue and burnout as a result of hybrid and remote work. Following the pandemic, flexibility is something that employees have grown accustomed to and, to a degree, expectant of. This is especially true of those who were new or relatively new to the workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the American Psychological Association, workers aged 18-25 are more likely to point to a lack of flexibility as detrimental to their work-life balance.
Thanks to the freedom that remote or hybrid work provides, top performers are often drawn to roles which offer this flexibility. This goes some way to explaining why a third of the association leaders surveyed in the Wiplfi report offered remote work options as a way of addressing their recruitment and retention challenges.
There is, however, another side to this issue. Remote and hybrid work arrangements can have their drawbacks when it comes to employee wellbeing. A 2024 study of the global workforce from Gallup showed that fully remote employees report significantly higher levels of loneliness (25%) than those who work exclusively on-site (16%). Studies have shown that chronic loneliness and social isolation can have wide-ranging detrimental impacts on individuals’ mental and physical health, which inevitably affect performance.
Associations must, therefore, be sure to consider their approach to their working arrangements very carefully. The health and wellbeing of their employees, and of their organisation as a whole, is dependent on finding a suitable arrangement.
No one-size-fits-all
Unfortunately there is no silver bullet when it comes to the return-to-office versus remote work debate. To ascertain the best approach for them, an individual association must honestly examine its unique culture, operational needs and, crucially, workforce preferences.
Amanda Haddaway, executive coach and director of HR Answerbox, had this to say on the matter: “The associations and nonprofits that are doing really well in retaining their people are the organisations that have invested and really intentionally created workplace cultures that work for their employees.”
Open lines of communication between association leaders and their workforce are essential in finding this all-important balance of needs. By fostering a culture of dialogue and feedback, association leaders can better understand the diverse circumstances, expectations and priorities of their employees. Armed with this information, they are better placed to determine working arrangements that will provide lasting benefit both to the organisation and its staff.