“There is no ‘right’ way to do this but what’s definitely not a good idea is to make an announcement that the business will open on such and such a date and everyone is expected to turn up as if nothing has happened. The return needs to be reflected on and it needs to be thoughtful.”The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development says the resilience of all employees has been seriously challenged by the pandemic.
In broad terms the pandemic was particularly hard on two groups: older people who were isolated and desperately missed their families; and younger folk whose lives revolved around their external social networks. “There are very clear preferences emerging related to age, and the younger people can’t wait to get back; older people less so,” says Buckley. “I have a student who is tracking patterns of engagement and burn-out in the 20-30 age group and, while they adapted initially because they had no choice, they have now reached a point where their motivation and engagement levels have dropped dramatically and they are almost salivating at the prospect of interacting with their peers again.
“It’s different for different sectors,” says Buckley. “Some businesses have seen productivity improve during remote working because people aren’t getting interrupted and they have a lot more autonomy, which is key to intrinsic motivation. Others, such as those in the creative industries, have suffered because you don’t get the same brain-storming spark when people are not together.”