Case Study $1$

Returning to On$-$Site Work

When should employees come back to the office? Should this be done in stages, or would it be better to do this all at once or maybe not at all? What can we do to help employees feel safe? What if some employees want to continue to work from home, while others are looking fonvard to being back at the office? These were just some of the questions running through Jessica Thornwald's mind as she sat down at her desk to put together a plan of action.

Jessica was the managing director at Concourse Consulting, a firm specializing in providing clients with advice and expertise regarding engineering projects. In addition to Jessica, the company employed $50$ people: $5$ managers $($who reported to Jessica$),3$ administrative staff, $35$ engineers, and $7$ project managers. Administrative staff and engineers reported to $1$ of the $7$ project managers. Serving over $200$ clients, in a variety of industries, the small start$-$up Jessica had founded only $8$ years ago had grown into a profitable enterprise with a strong reputation in the marketplace. Concourse Consulting was known as a knowledgeable and professional service provider for clients as well as a terrific employer. Employees worked well together and there were open lines of communication $($through regular meetings which all staff attended and through bimonthly newsletters$).$ There was employee involvement in decision making $($Jessica always asked her project managers to contribute their ideas and to ask staff who reported to them for input$).$ There were Friday afternoon social events where employees could connect in a less formal manner and whap up the work week.

All of this suddenly changed $18$ months ago when a pandemic hit and people were forced to work from home. Jessica was grateful that, due to the nature of the business, clients could still be served and all employees were able to be set up with home offices. As such, while business had certainly declined, operations had continued. Jessica held monthly virtual meetings and encouraged employees to contact her $($online or via email$)$ but had noticed that there was less and less connection as the months went by$.$

Finally, the clearance to return to work had been given from government and health officials. Jessica was surprised when she started receiving emails from project managers sharing that some employees were scared about returning to on$-$site work and others didn't want to return at all and would like to keep working from home. Other employees indicated that they were thrilled about going back to the office.

Jessica knew she had to make some immediate decisions and communicate a plan to employees. This had to be addressed in a strategic and thoughtful manner, so she turned off her phone and began to craft a plan.

Questions:

Should Jessica insist that all employees return to on$-$site work? If she did, how could this impact the company culture?

What problems could occur if some employees are allowed to continue to work from home? How could these issues be managed?

If all, or some, employees are allowed to continue to work from home, how can Jessica ensure that the corporate culture remains intact during remote work?

What should Jessica do to ensure that employees feel safe when returning to on$-$site work?