In the aftermath of the pandemic, the working-at-home trend seemed to be here to stay. But the situation is now changing quite rapidly, with many large companies shifting towards in-person work – Amazon, for example, has just announced that it is switching to full in-office working from 2025.

Businesses argue that office working fosters creativity and spontaneity, enhances working relationships and co-operation and consolidates company culture and loyalty. Many younger employees would agree (a recent survey showed 64% of younger respondents in the UK would be willing to work for companies that did not offer hybrid working options). This is because they are missing social interactions and are unable to fully exploit opportunities for mentoring and career development. In short, they are feeling isolated and somewhat adrift.

The arguments in favour of hybrid working have been well-rehearsed; flexible schedules allow employees to manage other aspects of their lives (eg childcare) more effectively and the release from the daily grind and expense of the commute to work can be extremely liberating.

Employers will need to balance these competing claims to ensure that they are offering employees an optimum working environment. It is certainly true that the return to the physical office will be much more welcomed if office amenities and benefits are improved and there is a renewed emphasis on the working environment, which includes looking at, and improving, office culture, team building, relationships within the hierarchy and work-based socialising.

At best, a return to more traditional office-based work has the benefit of drawing a clearer boundary between work hours and leisure time. Having a dedicated workplace will make it easier to switch off when at home, which may help to lead to a healthier work-life balance, with less emphasis on 24/7 availability and multi-tasking.

If your workplace is becoming more office-based, you will want to draw on the lessons learnt during the pandemic and ensure that a return to office work does not precipitate a mass exodus. We’ve taken a look at the following ways to improve your workplace culture:

Encourage Teamwork

Most offices work on the premise that the staff constitutes a team. But this important fact is often ignored.

Nothing undermines a team more than the tendency not to share credit when something is going right, which is of course matched by a tendency to blame others when things go wrong.

Functioning teams will always be appreciative of the demands being made on their members. Quite frequently a subordinate will have to reschedule all his or her work to meet the demands of a senior. The logistics may be unavoidable; the assumption that the assistant needs no special thanks or appreciation is.

For a team to work well everyone needs to be broadly aware of what everyone else is doing. Regular team meetings are a way of keeping colleagues appraised of ongoing projects, deadlines, and crises. This means that, in extremis, colleagues are ready and available to step in and help fellow team-members when things go wrong or become pressurised.

It is generally a sign that a team is not cohering when people keep very quiet when volunteers are called for to contribute to a work effort or even to organise a social occasion.

Ten Ways to Build a Team

1. Deploy good manners at all times – opening doors for those with a handful, whoever they may be; holding the lift doors open for those who would otherwise just miss it; greeting everyone civilly; being prepared to engage in polite small talk with colleagues.
2. Give credit where credit is due, and let it be known that this has been done.
3. Give as much notice as possible of the looming danger of extra hours having to be worked.
4. Show sufficient interest in colleagues to note when one of them seems ill, worried, under stress, confused or in any other way impaired.
5. Communicate good news or appreciation from on high to everyone concerned, rather than hogging it to yourself.
6. Suppress rumours or gossip – all of which will eventually have a negative effect on morale and leave a nasty taste in the mouth, however piquant they may seem at the time.
7. Consult people before decisions are made – especially those that will directly concern them.
8. Listen to what people have to say, rather than giving the impression that there really isn’t time.
9. Encourage people to work together where appropriate.
10. Generally behave as though the team exists.

Say Thank You

Those who deserve praise and don’t get it have a habit of disappearing and joining rival companies, and by then it’s too late to acknowledge their value. Anyone who performs his or her task co-operatively, efficiently, thoughtfully and loyally deserves more than just their regular salary and a few brief words of thanks at the annual Christmas get-together.

Whatever your own position in the office, you should be ready to thank anyone who takes a phone call on your behalf or who stayed behind to deal with an extra workload. Be grateful to colleagues who show concern when they can see that something is wrong. Always acknowledge people who remember something that you’ve forgotten.

And don’t forget to thank people who lend you things, who clear up your rubbish, and who even offer to make you the occasional cup of tea!

Encourage Innovation

Management should be receptive to, and appreciative of, new ideas from junior members of staff, whether these ideas are good or bad, old or new, commercial or social. Anyone who thinks they have a way of making office life better or of ensuring a rosy financial future for the company should be listened to with respect.

Show that you welcome the opportunity to listen to new ideas. Always acknowledge that the idea is a good one, if it is. Use gentle dissuasion if it is not workable. Avoid rash or unrealistic promises but be sure to carry out whatever promises are made to further the progress of the idea (nothing dispirits a workforce more than empty promises, whether they’re about pay rises, security of employment, better work conditions or whatever).

If the powers that be love the idea, be honest about its origins. Seek to involve as many people as possible in sharing the good news if the idea is a success. But avoid the temptation to use one person’s success as a stick with which to beat the rest of the office staff who haven’t come up with a good idea.

Encourage Mentorship

Successful workplaces encourage personal growth and development, ensuring that members of staff never feel that they are languishing and stuck in a rut. So, it is always a good idea to set up mentorship schemes and to oblige senior members of staff to fulfil their responsibilities to the next generation.

Mentors are not only able to pass on in-depth knowledge of the company and its business, they are also able to explain the company culture and demonstrate, often through their own example, how to handle meetings, solve problems, relate to senior management, communicate with clients, and so on.

Most importantly of all, they can build close relationships with junior members of staff and will be the first port of call if anyone is struggling or finding their workplace challenging. They should be willing to discuss their own early years in the workplace and open to conversations about work-life balance, childcare dilemmas, office socialising, and so on.  

Effective mentoring schemes will improve staff retention and will undoubtedly help to make the office a happier place.