Christopher J. Dwyer

Although it’s hard to believe, it’s been four years since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. And in that time, several key Future of Work “accelerants” took the business arena by storm. The extended workforce, long a viable source of talent, saw a remarkable increase in utilization as businesses sought true workforce scalability in the face of uncertain times.

Direct sourcing began to take off as a means of nurturing talent communities and developing a near-self-sustaining source of on-demand expertise. Skills-based hiring emerged as a way to look “beyond” costs and pay rates to revolutionize how enterprises innovative and leverage next-generation skillsets.

Empathy-led leadership and emotional intelligence became crucial endeavors to separate the successful leaders from those that would eventually lose their staff to the Great Resignation. And, of course, the most famous Future of Work accelerant of all, remote and hybrid work, drew most of the spotlight and headlines.

In the wake of social distancing and quarantines and general fear of spreading a once-in-a-lifetime virus, many businesses (that could do so) quickly transitioned to a remote-first infrastructure. This, of course, raised numerous challenges, from issues with trust to concerns over worker productivity. As we know by now, the move to a hybrid workplace resulted in more benefits than drawbacks: in addition to staff having more control over their schedules, they also found that work-life integration vastly improved, as did overall wellness and satisfaction with their leadership, teams, and general everyday business lives. (And, of course, we covered all things remote work here on the Future of Work Exchange.)

While there were very early opponents of the remote work model (hi, Elon) and others that continued to rebel against the thought of workers being at their home offices (James Gorman, we see you), there was a clear and resounding outcome: remote and hybrid work would forever be a foundational element of the world of work.

Four years now removed from the beginning of the pandemic and three years since the arrival of highly-effective vaccines (not to mention two-plus years since the first inklings of “normalcy”), businesses have spent the past 18 or so months dabbling in “return-to-office” mandates that have essentially divided enterprise leaders, with some calling for extreme, pre-pandemic office structures and others sticking to pandemic-era hybrid formats.

While the benefits of both remote and hybrid workplaces are proven and abundantly clear at this stage, the hard truth is that, at some point, companies were bound to slowly increase the number of required days in office, regardless of their stance on RTO mandates.

The business arena of 2024 is the closest we know that resembles pre-pandemic life, and, as such, represents an opportunity for enterprise executives to harken back to those days when offices were bustling and proximity collaboration was an everyday occurrence. However, as stated here on the Exchange in the past, there’s no shoving that genie back into the bottle; workers and professionals not only desire the benefits of remote work, but have also learned the best ways to balance work-life integrational attributes within this model over the past few years.

Today, business leaders are engaged in a tug-of-war with their staff over RTO mandates and the best possible means of balancing “required in-office days” with ensuring workers want to come back to the office. And there’s a major aspect here that is critical to the future of in-office and traditional workplace structures: culture.

“Why would people abandon the comfort of their routine for a commute to the office? Culture is the answer. It’s the way they are treated upon arrival, the atmosphere of the building, and the motivation they feel from leaders and their fellow team members. Culture is empowering and dictates success, fueled by the everyday people who create it,” says Jim Love, Director, Strategic Client Solutions at Talent Solutions TAPFIN.

The very essence of an organization’s identity, values, and camaraderie is intricately tied to its culture, and this moment in time, when RTO mandates are becoming a norm, demands a deliberate and strategic approach. A thriving workplace culture is not merely a byproduct but a catalyst for productivity, innovation, and employee well-being. As employees transition back to shared physical spaces and traditional workplace environments, the culture sets the tone for collaboration, engagement, and a sense of purpose.

“Culture isn’t one thing. It’s all the small things. And it doesn’t start at the top down. It starts when you smile at the front desk associate. Or when you thank the maintenance staff for the great work they do. Those compounding and small-but-mighty actions are what make people want to feel part of something bigger. Give them a reason to come back – make it ingrained in who you are as an organization,” says Love.

Neglecting the critical role of workplace culture in return-to-office mandates risks creating a sterile environment void of inspiration, hindering the potential for collective achievement and sustained success. In this pivotal juncture, organizations must not only welcome employees back to their desks but reinvigorate them with a vibrant, inclusive, and empowering culture that fuels the journey ahead.

Adds Love, “Don’t just acknowledge and appreciate culture…create and sustain it. Preach your culture, and when necessary, use words. It is the foundation we build to bring people together. When it’s created and sustained, people will come back. Authenticity is what matters…and your culture should shout that!”