What to do if your team doesn’t want to go back to the office

AS the Covid-19 pandemic continues, tensions are likely to grow while organizations whose employees have been working from home ponder a return to the office. Many knowledge workers—who have happily shed their commutes, decreased their interaction with difficult colleagues and let go of other office life frustrations—have relished the freedom, flexibility and increased productivity of working from home. But some senior leaders, who may not have confidence in their own ability to manage remote workers, aren’t necessarily on the same page.

The opinions of these leaders may be informed by anecdotal evidence that working from home is too distracting or doesn’t support group creativity. And they may share the view of Reed Hastings, the CO-CEO of Netflix, who described the inability of colleagues to get together in person as a “pure negative.”

As a manager, you may now be in a tough situation, especially if senior leaders at your company have started floating requirements for employees to come back to the office. How can you support your team if your senior leadership team remains skeptical of work-fromhome arrangements?

Here are seven approaches to help you make an effective case and come to a reasonable set of accommodations that everyone can get behind:

Focus on what your leaders care about

WHETHER or not employees have to go back to the office is ultimately determined by your leaders’ preferences. If your boss tends to lack sympathy for his employees' individual needs and motivations, discussing personal issues, such as a team member’s concern over exposing an elderly parent to the coronavirus, may only trigger defensiveness and dismissiveness. Instead, focus on what your leader cares about and find ways to show that remote work is beneficial to the company. For example, you could highlight that working from home allows you to retain skilled employees who might otherwise have to leave to provide child care or because of their own health risks. You might also point out that virtual work has been a boon to recruiting talent that has been locally unavailable or hard to relocate.

Determine if their concerns are personal

SOMETIMES a leader’s negative feelings about one or two employees can cloud their judgment of the entire group. Ask your boss if he has the same concerns about employees he likes and approves of. I used this technique successfully with a leader who believed that employees were taking advantage of the lack of supervision granted by remote work to play hooky. Once I got her to spell out which people she believed were taking advantage of the situation and which were not, we were able to focus on what we could do to improve the unsatisfactory performance of individuals rather than having her blame and disapprove of the entire team.

Highlight the engagement of all employees, wherever they’re working

SOME people are truly happier working from the office, and if it’s safe for them to be on premises, the presence of such “volunteers” can be reassuring to executives who want to see people in the office. Invite leaders to video meetings that include both in-person and remote workers, and showcase your team's achievements. If employees have newly found free time because they aren’t commuting, putting some of it into learning new skills or other forms of professional development is another way to demonstrate to the leaders your team members' commitment to the company and its goals.

Emphasize habits that make things seem as normal as possible

SOME leaders can feel a sense of loss and disarray when a change outside their control disrupts rituals they’ve come to rely on. And they may unknowingly project their discomfort onto your team. If a senior leader routinely met with your team for coffee, for example, try scheduling virtual coffee hours at the old days and times, restoring as many comforting details as possible, even if you have to ship supplies to employees’ homes. Similarly, if your organization’s town halls or huddles have fallen away, reinstitute them by phone or video, or encourage your executives to hold drop-in video sessions, if they’re missing their open office hours.

Mirror leaders’ mode and rhythm of communication

LEADERS who are accustomed to giving instructions by popping over to employees’ desks, catching people in the hall or who typically have a line of people waiting to see them can feel neglected if they’re in the office but their team members aren’t readily accessible. Matching your boss's cadence and style of communication remotely might not be quite as satisfying as in-person interactions, but it will demonstrate your team’s commitment to being responsive. Ask the leader specifically about the most desirable channel for information delivery on different subjects and preferences regarding the time of day or frequency. If it’s not an undue burden, ask team members to accommodate these preferences as a way to demonstrate presence and availability.

Encourage employees to treat company leaders as their most important customers

AN emphasis on formal respect and personal interest can mitigate some leaders’ concern that employees aren’t taking their work seriously while at home. If your boss is a traditionalist, consider switching out the hoodie for a shirt or a blouse during video conferences. Employees may feel that this is inauthentic and unnecessary under the circumstances, but it’s similar to creating the right impression for a big pitch.

Reach out for organizational support

YOUR human resources department can be an ally here. They may already be aware of your leadership’s tough-minded approach, and may be able to provide your boss with helpful data and research about how working from home is actually paying off for your company. Similarly, if other senior executives in your organization have adjusted their work processes and team management successfully, you could ask if they’d be willing to share their experiences with your leadership.

Given the harsh realities of the pandemic, it may feel like it shouldn’t be necessary for you or your team to make accommodations to the idiosyncrasies of your boss. And, in an ideal world, you wouldn’t have to. Yet, keeping senior leaders calm and happy is definitely part of managing up and maintaining good relationships. If your leadership is applying pressure for employees to come back to the office prematurely, and you believe there’s a balance that could work better for everyone, applying some of the approaches above may help ease the tension and create a bridge between different expectations.

Liz Kislik is the author of How to Resolve Interpersonal Conflicts in the Workplace.