If CEOs want the benefits of office work — more effective collaboration, better engagement and improved connection to the company's mission — they need to take the lead on return-to-office initiatives, according to an Oct. 4 report from Gallup.
Full-time remote workers are increasingly detached from their employers psychologically and less committed to customers, which can stunt productivity and hurt the organization financially, according to Gallup. CEOs tend to recognize this, and many are asking employees to come in a few days a week.
Their attempts have been met with resistance. Of the 125 million full-time workers in the U.S., 50 percent tell Gallup they can do their jobs entirely from home. Ninety percent of those workers do not want to return to the office five days per week.
Part of the problem is a disconnect between when leaders are on-site and when workers are, according to Gallup. Among hybrid workers, managers are in the office 2.8 days per week while employees are in 2.5 days.
"If your highest-level leaders are working from distant locations, the issue isn't the followers — it's the leaders," the Gallup report says. "This has to be a CEO-led initiative or it won't work."
Gallup offers these tips for CEOs looking to take charge of their back-to-office strategy:
- Clarify that for collaborative roles, "hybrid" means three full office days per week, and anything less is considered "remote." Make a strong distinction between "hybrid" and "remote," and which formats are effective for which jobs.
- Establish Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays as on-site days for everyone.
- Transform the quality of managers at all levels by crafting an internal certification system that aligns with the organization's purpose.
- Announce that promotions will require a full hybrid commitment.