How to create a commute-worthy office space for your team

The reintroduction to an office environment is being met with varying degrees of acceptance, from excitement to hesitancy. Here are a few areas to focus on to make an office not just acceptable to commute to—but a place that people find value in and are e

Make your tools seamless to use

Teams are now used to their remote work environments and invested in at-home

setups,with all their accommodations. Our office spaces should emulate this. Replicating at-home setups at the office is a gesture that demonstrates to workers their remote offices have value and, as a manager, you want to make them as comfortable as possible. Show that you care by allowing your employees to customize their workspaces at the office. And ask them what they need to be successful, where they want to be situated, and how you can make each space wholly theirs. This becomes harder for bigger companies, but they can still put in the time to check what everyone needs, whether through a survey or individual inquiries.

Lead with transparency

Leaders who prefer that employees meet in person must create incentive for them to come back to an office versus mandating them. We know that employees want flexibility, and it would be unfair to have different requirements for various employees based on location alone. We need transparency about what’s going on in the office so those who work remotely can participate or choose to commute on that day. Learning how to run equitable hybrid meetings where remote participants feel just as included as the people in the room is another key consideration. Every office gathering space must have the proper technology to pull remote team members into the conversation, too. Whether you are encouraging folks to come in a few days each week or setting up a company shared calendar, provide information so people can make purposeful decisions that are right for them.