Return to What?

“Return to sender. Address unknown. No such number. No such zone.”

• Lyric from “Return to Sender” by Elvis Presley

Substitute the word “office” for sender, and we’re on one of the hottest business topics of the new year. Imagine Elvis in business casual singing, “Return to office? Culture unknown. No predictive numbers. Twilight zone!”

The hybrid work folks say return to office (RTO) is just a ruse to cover up layoffs. Believers in the concept, chief among them Jamie Dimon, CEO of Chase, cite erosion of culture, loss of productive team dynamics, and, as he’s maintained from the start, productivity since the pandemic-led movement to work from home (WFH).

The lion’s share of Generation Z workers have never been in the office full-time. The lion’s share of us Boomers never knew any different until The 19 broke out.

As leaders, we ought to communicate clearly and intentionally. Why are we bringing the teams back in? Why now? How much lead time will we give folks to transition? Child care. Commute considerations. Lots of moving parts.

Do we have enough space and enough of the right kind of space? What will our position be on video calls if everyone is in the office? Do we have the right equipment in place? The right connectivity? The right phone system? Enough conference rooms?

Is there coffee in the lounge? Are there snacks in the vending machines? Is there TP in the rest rooms?

How will we measure the efficacy of the decision? How (and how often) will we evaluate and communicate about the progress?

Like so many things we consider, one thing is an amalgamation of many more minor things.

RTO?

Think “layers, nuance, and color” instead of black and white. Then, whether we’re bringing ’em back or leaving ’em out there, we’ll build (or re-build) the kind of culture that will make them want to stay.