Feeling anxious at the thought of returning to in-person work? You’re not the only one! Many people experience fear of working from the office again. There is already a name for this: Fear of Returning to the Office. More and more organizations are encouraging or requiring their employees to return to their regular workplaces, which raises new challenges and concerns. How can a company alleviate such fear and facilitate stress-free employee return to the office? This article will look at practices and strategies that can help employees and managers cope with this challenging transition.
Where does the fear of returning to office work come from?
The Fear of Returning to the Office is a phenomenon that causes significant psychological discomfort in employees. Being afraid of diving back into the office has several causes. First of all, employees fear losing the autonomy and comfort they enjoyed in the home office. They associate office work with having less freedom to manage their space and time, which can cause stress.
Additionally, sharing a space with others and the need for social interaction, which were limited when working remotely, can now seem challenging. Moreover, being at the office in person means a return to a strict daily schedule, and a limited capability to respond flexibly to personal and domestic responsibilities. It all makes many employees anxious about returning to those “old days” of the working world.
How do you help employees overcome the fear of returning to in-person work?
Fear, as a feeling, is a reaction to a perceived threat that triggers an impulse to protect oneself. In the context of the return to in-person work, organizations can alleviate anxiety by sending clear messages, offering flexibility, and suitable office space layouts.
Recognizing differences among employees, or office design with an eye for neurodiversity
The concepts of neuroatypicality, neurodiversity, and inclusiveness are all HRM terms used today. Different people work in shared office space and need the right solutions to allow them to focus fully, analyze information easily, and feel at ease in the office. When rearranging your office, planning out different sensory zones is best.
Hushoffice acoustic office pods meet the needs of neuroatypical and neurotypical people alike. These help them organize their work, customize their space, collaborate and perceive in better ways. Adjustable ventilation and lighting, as well as the reduction of visual distractions, give employees a place to work in which they feel truly comfortable.
Identify Specific Employee Concerns
It is best to ask about their concerns and fears to find out why employees are not eager to return to working in the office. Unless an employer devotes time and effort to show interest in the well-being of their staff, it will be difficult to make people feel comfortable in the office. One problem might be the noise filling the open-plan office, which makes it more challenging to think clearly, focus on things that need to be done, or communicate easily. In this case, installing acoustic partitions, panels, or furniture is enough.
Placing hushFree ‘s acoustic pods around the office is another good idea, as they offer a balance between a refuge from the busy office and monitoring the immediate surroundings. These pods ensure personal space when doing conceptual work, just for a moment to unwind, and privacy for video conferencing, business, or personal phone calls. They boost focus before pressing deadlines, cutting off any flurry of sounds and excess stimuli unrelated to the job at hand.
Rebuilding communities
People are social beings whose jobs are essential parts of their lives, as they come with numerous opportunities for interpersonal contact. Employees need a feeling of community and belonging, which can be restored by providing a comfortable environment for interaction. Leaders can have team meetings regularly or foster dynamic teamwork to rebuild openness and trust among team members.
The hushFree.L acoustic office pods support informal conversations and arranged brainstorming sessions with up to 6 people. Numerous furnishing options are provided for you to turn them into relaxed areas that offer a brief escape from tight deadlines and technology, when fostering positive and lasting relationships in the workplace.
Workplace design with employee well-being in mind
Losing freedom is a significant element of FRTO: many employees who had previously worked from home are worried about being unable to make decisions about the ergonomics of their surroundings and how they work. This is why designing an office that is flexible in its layout, furnishings, and the arrangement of separate areas is so important.
Solutions like height-adjustable desks, whiteboards on casters, mobile acoustic walls, modular furniture, collaborative work zones, and focus areas supply options to adapt the spaces to the activities and needs at hand. It is also a way of investing in the psychological health and quality team performance for the long-term.
