Many companies had to shutdown completely during the Covid pandemic. There were government mandated closures in most major cities. This resulted in many millions of people losing their jobs, and many millions of people transitioned to a work from home situation.
In a prior article a few years ago, I covered how employers were trying to incentivice people to get back to work in the 2022 climate. Now that a few years have changed, there are new strategies.
However, in recent months there has been a strong push to get people back to the office. There are studies that suggest that working from home leads to an increase in productivity, however there are also just as many employers who want seats back in the chairs (a polite way to put it).
For instance, Goldman Sachs, a notable bank in NYC made headlines with their tactics to get people back to work.
There is an understandable hesitancy for people to return to work. Some fear the crime and danger of commuting in large cities, others just have gotten used to working from home and no longer want to spend hours at a time traveling to and from work.
Since it’s become such a popular topic, and with so many recruiters fielding questions regarding work from home, hybrid, and in-person roles, I figured this would be a great time to discuss some of the incentives that employers are using to get people back to work.
Hybrid Work Schedules- A Compromise
Many people simply will not return full time to the office. It’s not even necessary for many jobs in the corporate world. So, if you are dealing with an employer who is looking to hire someone for a corporate role, then odds are they will entice someone back with a hybrid schedule.
Now, this is not something that medical professionals or other blue collar workers can take advantage of. If the work requires you to be “hands on”, then there is little leeway.
However, if you are working in a space where most of your work is done online using Zoom meetings, email, or phone calls, then there is really no reason to insist on a full, in-person situation.
Many companies want to bring people back to the office to increase company morale, efficiency, and employee oversight. But they are running into problems when they see that the people will not come back for a 5 day work schedule.
The compromise is to do a 3 day or 4 day work week.
Improved Workspaces- But Not Shared Spaces !
Many companies have had to shutdown their office spaces due to the multi-year shutdown. However, one of the problems with brining people back to work is that traditional offices are no longer in vouge. People simply do not like the idea of working in a office for 8 hours a day.
While there was a time when shared offices like WeWork were popular, these shared office spaces fell out of favor—especially with the public collapse of places such as WeWork. This, when combined with the enormous cost of the space, lead people to rethink their office needs.
So, what many companies have done is rethink the traditional office. This includes integrating a more communal space, or even a more non-traditional design—some include tv’s and exercise areas.
Employee Wellness Programs
In recent years, people have become more focused on their health. This might be due to the lockdown where people were stuck at home, or it might be due to the increasing focus on health and wellness on places like YouTube and social media.
Whatever the reason, more and more people have become focused on improving their fitness goals and their healthy eating habits.
One of the more common tricks that employers use to coax people back to the office are wellness programs. These programs can be anything from discounted meal plans with partner companies, to a discounted lunch from a local health food chain.
Professional Development Opportunities
Employees in many fields are now asking for new benefits, including professional development. This is less common in corporate roles, but it is very common in social service sectors and hospital work. Nurses in particular want to have their employers pay for advanced training. Some small clinics won’t have the budgets to keep nurses in this day and age, but large government funded non-profits and hospitals can aid with nurses who are obtaining advanced degrees.
A common approach is for nurses who went to a 2 year Nursing school (either a community college program, or a post-high school nursing program).
In the corporate world, there’s less of a focus on providing professional development. Part of this is due to the hyper competitive nature of the business world. The corporate sector is less inclined to provide incentives to it’s workers since their businesses are not directly funded by the tax bases, and the owners are able to be more discretion with benefits (this is why benefits and pensions are almost non-existent outside of public work or hospital work).
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