While there is a case to be made from the company’s point of view of getting all hands physically on deck again after the great office exodus of 2020, leaders should be aware of the consequences of a top-down approach, says Advaita Naidoo, managing director of Africa at executive search firm Jack Hammer Global.
“In South Africa, companies face a real risk of the rapid call-back impacting on their bottom line. We are already fielding calls daily from highly sought-after professionals who are not prepared – through choice, changed circumstance or both – to return to the way things were before Covid. “One only has to look at the real-life impact of the return-to-work ultimatums on social media forums on the part of desperate employees who simply can’t adapt and change their lives with short notice, to understand that just because companiesThere are essentially three scenarios awaiting companies following a top-down approach at this stage, Naidoo said:“A tremendous amount of goodwill was built up during the pandemic, with companies facilitating work-from-home arrangements.
Allow sufficient time for employees to make new arrangements – because circumstances and logistics have changed for many people;Consult sufficiently and substantially;Another shift coming “They would have made new arrangements for childcare, they may have been forced to move, perhaps they have divorced and now no longer have the support of a partner who can help out with admin and logistics, they may have lost loved ones, they may have lasting mental or physical health issues, and so forth.
All while they've reported 'record profits' and 'record breaking productivity' while saving on electricity, office kitchen goods like milk and coffee, water and other consumables... Look around, fuel prices, less pollution, less MVAs etc. are all incentive.