Companies across the country have been pushing full-time return-to-office policies, marking an shift away from the work-from-home era of the past few years. Though CEOs may assume that having employees in-office five days a week will lead to bottom-line business benefits, the research actually shows that working remotely increases employee productivity. It’s a simple fact: the extra time employees save from skipping the commute allows them to get more work done – which in turn gives the team a morale boost.

If working from home actually leads to reduced employee productivity, why are we hearing that CEOs want employees in the office Monday to Friday? From what we’ve seen in our experience, it really boils down to the fact that leadership believes it’s easier to manage employees when they’re within eyesight. After all, “butts in seats” is supposedly a predictor of what productivity means when you’re leading using an outdated, top-down management approach like Taylorism.

But it’s 2024, and with the advent of technology like AI, we suggest leaders look at productivity in a more nuanced way. Instead of micromanaging employees every step of the way – such as checking their screens to ensure they’re not wasting time on the social media – why not focus on actual outcomes? Questions that leaders can ask when tracking output include: What did you specifically accomplish today? What was the project progress? Where did you get stuck? What are your goals for the week? How effectively did you meet them? As an example, if you’re managing a sales employee, things you could track include how many calls were completed, work completed towards building their portfolio, or the status of their sales pipeline.

There are many technological tools that can help you track employee output in standardized ways, such as project management systems. Tracking employee outcomes using objective processes and tools helps leaders focus on what’s actually going on in terms of productivity, rather than getting distracted by the illusion of maintaining control. The truth is, regardless of the conditions, whether it’s in office for five days a week or a three-day hybrid-work policy, low performers will underperform and high performers produce results. But the extra flexibility and time that comes with working from home gives high performers an extra boost of creativity and motivation to achieve goals at work.

The other problem with 100% return to office policies is that it’s extraordinarily gendered. It actually stops women from having the extra flexibility to manage both home and work life. Since more men will be out of the house with strict return-to-office policies, we can expect less involvement at home and as a result, a more traditional gendered home allocation of work. After all, research shows that remote work clearly makes things easier for working parents, especially women, since they have more flexibility over their time to manage their responsibilities. And, men are more involved in family life.

With all that said, there are also benefits of working from the office. Regularly meeting in person gives more opportunity for team building, meeting leadership and colleagues, and career mentorship. That’s why hybrid work policies offer a healthy balance for both in-person mentorship and employee flexibility. There are many ways to design your hybrid work policy depending on the goals of your company, and to ensure that employees work successfully both individually and collaboratively. Orange Grove offers leadership training on hybrid workplaces and overcoming return to office challenges.

It’s time for leaders to rethink management policies using the same creativity they use to compete in their markets or create new products. By shifting to an outcome-driven model rather than a top-down process, we’ll begin to see more motivated employees and increased productivity across the board.

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