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Learn how bosses can make it as easy as possible for employees to return to work

Now that the pandemic seems to be disappearing, people are returning to the office. However, employers will need to manage this return to work, maintaining the well-being of their employees and leading the company to a better place. Also, they will have to deal with depression, anxiety, and other effects of the pandemic.  

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There have been positive effects too. People have been able to reconnect with their families and take time for themselves. However, I believe that with this pandemic we have all learned to separate, to establish limits so that the work does not overwhelm us. The return to the office will be hard. We will no longer be working in the same environment we have been working during this year and we will no longer see our family members so often. That is why the transition is so important.

So, what can leaders to facilitate the return of their employees? What can they do to help calm reentry anxiety, enhance worker well-being, and carry the business forward? 

First, try to make your employees feel that they belong to something, thus sharing your purpose with them. Try to make them feel comfortable and connected with each other and with the rest of the team. Try to make them feel that they contribute to something important through their work, and that without them achieving the objectives would not be possible. A practical tip is the following: a law firm can organise, at the end of the working day, activities that foster interprofessional relations (dinners in restaurants, outdoor activities, cultural visits).

Second, the pandemic has been very stressful and overwhelming for everyone, so try not to make work extra stressful for them. The office can be a place where their anxiety is relieved, a comfortable place where they feel calm and without pressure. Maybe, consider how technology, which has made work and relationships so much easier during the pandemic, can be a great help in promoting the well-being of your employees. For example, create an enterprise application to measure the state in which your employees are, in order to see what can be improved.

Last but not least, establish a good onboarding plan, and communicate it in advance to your employees. Going back to the office and not knowing what is going to happen can generate a lot of uncertainty and anxiety.