Work-from-home: How to get employees excited to work in the office

Working from home is now baked into most workplace policies, whether it’s one or two days at home or fully remote setups. It’s become a key tool for retaining staff, and when employees are unhappy, companies are usually quick to listen. But the real challenge isn’t reacting when things go wrong. It’s getting ahead of it.

Because in a world where the lounge, a quiet space and zero commute are hard to beat, employers are now facing a bigger question: how do you make people want to come into the office, and actually enjoy being there with their colleagues?

Employers hoping to lure staff back into the office need to focus less on mandates and more on meaning, according to Hays Enterprise Solutions managing director Shane Little.

“It’s about having a culture where people prefer the interaction of being in an office with their colleagues than they do over the slightly solitary working environment of being at home,” Mr Little said.

While flashy perks once defined workplace appeal, he said they are no longer enough.

“That isn’t about simply having a physical nice office anymore, or good breakout rooms, or good collaboration rooms... or even having a barista on site,” he said.

“It’s about having a culture where people prefer the interaction of being in an office with their colleagues than they do over the slightly solitary working environment of being at home.

“The fundamentals are: get the environment, get the culture as attractive and collaborative as you possibly can.”

The importance of being in the office

Despite the rise of remote work, Mr Little said there were still clear benefits to in-person interaction, particularly when it comes to career growth.

“We hear across the industry the term proximity bias,” he said.

“Individuals who are physically present with their colleagues create better relationships, put themselves front and centre for opportunities for growth, for promotion, for development.”

While remote workers can still thrive, those who opt out of in-person collaboration may risk being overlooked.

“If an organisation is trying to achieve good in-person collaboration… and particular individuals don’t buy into that, sometimes they can get left behind or sidelined a little bit.”

He added that beyond career progression, there are also human benefits.

“At the end of the day, you build some of your closest relationships, your meaningful friendships, in a work environment… and if you are working virtually the whole time, it becomes a lot more difficult to do that.”

The hybrid challenge

As workplaces adopt flexible models, Mr Little said many are still struggling to get hybrid working right.

“If you have eight people in a room and one or two people dialling in… are they being heard as much?” he said.

“Are they having the same space as everyone else in the room to contribute?”

He noted that while fully remote or fully in-person meetings can be effective, hybrid setups are often the hardest to execute.

“Running those meetings when everyone is physically together is more impactful… and running those meetings in a hybrid environment is arguably the hardest, and often the least impactful.”

Flexibility is the new normal

“Flexible working conditions are not a benefit or a privilege anymore… they are just table stakes in an employer-employee relationship,” Mr Little said.

“If you don’t have flexible working conditions… you are not going to be an attractive employer in today’s age.”

He stressed the importance of ensuring remote or hybrid workers are treated equally.

“They’re not made to feel of lesser importance… not made to feel left behind… not made to feel guilty. That’s almost the worst thing they could be made to feel.”

Workers are choosing to come back

Interestingly, Mr Little said many employees are now voluntarily spending more time in the office, even beyond what policies require.

“We are seeing a gradual increase of people choosing to be in the office more frequent than the policy may suggest,” he said.

“If you’re supposed to be in three days a week, we are seeing more people choosing to be in four.”

He believes this shift reflects a growing awareness of the benefits of in-person work.

“People are more understanding of the value of human interaction and also some of the risks… to mental health of working in isolated ways for a prolonged period of time.”