As more individuals receive the Covid vaccine, companies are beginning to look ahead to what that means for their employees. After working remotely for over a year, most workers may find returning to the office a difficult transition.

With personal health and safety as a concern, employees want to be reassured that the proper protocols will be rolled out. ALI Conferences ran an interesting survey to gauge when companies are ready to return to work. The results are as follows:

• 43% of respondents said their work was implementing a return-to-work strategy between July 2021 and September 2021.
• 19% of respondents said their work was implementing a return-to-work strategy between October 2021 and December 2021.
• 27% of respondents said their work has already implemented a return-to-work strategy.
• 11% of respondents said their work has decided to become permanently remote.

As we can tell from the results, each business is exploring a different path that can affect employees.

So, what is the solution here? The benefits seem apparent — employees will feel more comfortable coming into an office that has been fully vaccinated, enabling teams to collaborate and connect. The potential disadvantages for companies need to strike a careful balance between ensuring safety while not overstepping privacy boundaries.

From what we’re seeing so far, with the right tools in place, that stability is possible. After all, both sides have the same goal — to get back to work in a way that feels comfortable and protected.

Businesses want to be sure the workplace provides more value, offers more flexibility in where and when people get their work done, fosters more community and social connection, and of course, ensures improved health and safety.

The pandemic has shown that many office workers are perfectly happy and productive working from home, and the data reveals that the workplace needs to prove itself to employees, or companies risk losing their best workers.

Overall, the decision lies with the companies on what processes, protocols, and steps needed to be implemented next. Whether that is fully remote, back to in-person, or a hybrid of the two, success can only be obtained through decisive action.

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