Strange ironies face companies getting employees back to the office

Employers, at least larger ones, have made it clear that they want employees back in the office. There’s culture to pass on, innovation to happen and, typically unstated, executives who worry that they can’t keep an eye on those wily workers to be sure they’re being productive.

Cushman & Wakefield compiled some of what they’ve learned from surveying employees. The methodology is far from perfect; as the firm says, “these findings are the result of more than 11,000 respondents across major industries from October 1, 2020 to August 15, 2022.” That’s an awfully long stretch of time get coherent answers, as what someone might answer toward the end of the first pandemic year could be separated by half a planet from what they might say in summer of this year.

Still — bringing a pinch of salt to the numbers — there were some interesting answers that suggest that the two groups have significantly different expectations. Like employers are from Mars and workers, commuters from Alpha Centauri.

First point, For all those employers who want everyone in the office, there’s a massive contingent regardless of industry that plans on something else. “Our survey indicates that 44% of employees want to go to the office periodically, up to two days a week,” the firm writes. Notice that “up to” qualification.

That may be because, according to multiple studies, workers are more productive, happier, and in better health when remote.

Next comes something that is a little backwards from what you might expect. “Professional services/consulting and life science companies have the highest percentage of employees who want to return full time,” Cushman writes, “while the healthcare and technology sectors have the highest percentage interested in remote work.”

You might think that those in professional services and consulting might have a greater ability to work from home, like those in technology. But healthcare? Often a tough set of services to provide from home.

Third up is why employees want to return to the office when they do. Companies want work done. Employees? About 52% want to socialize.

Related: Rolling out return-to office-plans? What to consider before making it a mandate

You can’t do that from home, and you can’t work as well from work, according to the fourth point. “Over time, more employees have come to view the office as a place for personal connections and rely less on it to access resources than they used to: in 2020 31% of employees said they go to the office to access tools compared to 21% today – the largest downward shift of all the reasons tested this likely reflects the fact that they have created more effective workspaces at home,” the firm writes.

Finally, 15% of employees say there’s no benefit to working from the office. “Companies need to convey the value of the office as a place for connection and collaboration if they want to entice respondents back,” Cushman writes. But if people have better setups at home and look for the office as a place to socialize, that might be a tough value to convey.