One of the big challenges bosses and communicators are currently facing is the messaging around the return to the office.
A desire to get back to something resembling normality is picking up pace with every passing week. And for many, this includes a return to the office.
But working remotely has been a positive experience for others, and they are reluctant to change the way they work again. Some also feel anxious about returning to the workplace and staying safe.
It is an issue that needs to treated with care. Get it wrong, and bosses could face a significant backlash.
An example of this came last week when the boss of WeWork gave an interview to The Wall Street Journal about work and the future of his office.
WeWork CEO says least engaged employees enjoy working from home The Wall Street Journal
Sandeep Mathrani told the publication that companies can easily identify their “most engaged” workers by looking at those who want to return to the office.
He said: “Those who are uberly engaged with the company want to go to the office two-thirds of the time, at least.
“Those who are least engaged are very comfortable working from home.”
He added that time in the office was essential for collaboration and efficiency and said: “People are happier when they return to work.”
Now, there is clearly an argument that the man running an office-sharing company has good reason to want as many people to return to the office as quickly as possible.
As some social media users suggested, it is not too dissimilar from the bosses of a tobacco company announcing that “smoking is good for your health” or the barber giving in an interview where he says he thinks people would benefit from weekly haircuts.
But his comments were disparaging about remote workers, and they resulted in his firm looking at some damaging headlines.
WeWork chief addresses WFH comments that got criticised Evening Standard
WeWork insults employees who prefer working remotely Forbes
WeWork CEO sparks backlash after claiming workers who want to return to the office are most ‘engaged’ Independent
Alternate headline: WeWork, an office space rental company, attempts to boost revenue by spreading misinfo about employee engagement with the help of WSJ https://t.co/GczAztP1WQ
— 🥂Devin (@NotesFromDevin) May 12, 2021
"Children who don't eat candy are least intelligent," says candy manufacturer CEO.
— Brian Hoadley (@brianhoadley) May 14, 2021
“Teens who don’t smoke suffer anti-social disorders,” says the tobacco manufacturer CEO.
“Those who are least engaged are very comfortable working from home,” says WeWork CEO.@SandeepMathrani
Hmmm. It's almost as if WeWork might financially benefit from employees coming back into office spaces... https://t.co/0DL4Jqah5R
— Mickey Gomez (@mickeygomez) May 12, 2021
Perhaps not surprisingly, Mr Mathrani subsequently issued an apology for those comments.
In a LinkedIn post, he said: “I want to clarify that it was not my intent to cast a negative light on those who are working from home and I apologise if my comments were not clear.”
The word “if” is being asked to do some heavy-lifting in that statement, and it is something that should always be avoided in apologies - something we have covered in previous media training blogs.
Mr Maathrani is, of course, not the first boss to land himself in trouble over comments about remote working and returns to the office.
JP Morgan chief executive Jamie Dimon, already under fire from his involvement in the European Super League own goal, recently said that working from home “doesn’t work for young people.”
He said: It doesn’t work for those who want to hustle. It doesn’t work for spontaneous idea generation. It doesn’t work for culture.”
It has been reported that when employees took to the company’s message board to express their concerns, the bank responded by closing down the comments section.
These examples show the communication challenges leaders and organisations face as the world’s biggest work-from-home experiment appears to be drawing to a close.
Organisations need to be talking about the post-lockdown workplace now and ensuring they develop and refine messages, both for internal and external audiences, showing they are listening to their employees.
Those messages need to show compassion and empathy for the different situations of team members and strike a balance between those who can’t wait to get back and others who may not share that enthusiasm.
Leaders also need to be aware that what they do or say on the subject internally could be covered in the news, and, if they get it wrong, trigger damaging headlines - it is a topic that is firmly on the media agenda.
But don’t let that daunt you. Communication is vital, and even if you are unsure how or when your teams will be returning to the office, they will still want to know what you are considering.
Uncertainty makes people anxious and can lead to plenty of inaccurate speculation.
If you feel you need a hand getting your message right, we can organise a message development and testing session with one of our current working journalists tutors that can be tailored to your organisation.
Media First are media and communications training specialists with more than 35 years of experience. We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers.
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