Return to the office more of an 'if' than 'when'

After a year of white collar work done largely from home, state and federal leaders engaged Triangle businesspeople Tuesday morning for a discussion about the future of the workplace. What was once a question of "when" is more likely an "if" for many workers.

Posted 9:15 a.m. Mar 16, 2021 — Updated 11:57 a.m. Mar 17, 2021

Amanda Lamb

, WRAL reporter

After a year of white-collar work done largely from home, state and federal leaders engaged Triangle businesspeople Tuesday morning for a discussion about the future of the workplace. What was once a question of "when" to return to the office is more likely an "if" for many workers.

North Carolina Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr. Mandy Cohen and Andy Slavitt, a senior adviser for the White House COVID-19 Task Force, were part of the panel that took on issues of comfort, safety and choice.

In surveys nationwide, both bosses and employees have reported greater productivity, greater happiness and delight at avoiding a commute. Others report saving time and money by lowering the costs of keeping a building open and switching to virtual meetings.

Employers who spoke to WRAL News don't see a return to the pre-pandemic level of packed office towers.

A company like Citrix, where 700 workers once reported to downtown Raleigh, may never return to full capacity. Jenna Geigerman, Citrix real estate and facilities director, said an employee survey showed 66% won't return to the office full-time.

Jean Cook, who lives in Person County, told WRAL News, "Before COVID, I had a two-hour-a-day commute to and from work, and working from home has been wonderful. I don't have commute. I don't have the traffic, the stress."

Brenda Griner of Cumberland County agreed. "I definitely would prefer working from home over working from the office, and maybe go into the office one day a week."

That kind of hybrid model is on the table for many companies. In the Citrix survey, 52 percent of employees said they wanted to be able to choose on a daily basis whether they work at the office or work from home.

“I believe what people really want, what people really need and what people really deserve is flexibility," said Sharon Bryson, CEO of the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants. "I’ve seen amazing things from our team day and day out.”

Permanent, regular remote work comes at a cost, though.

Tips for transitioning to working from home

"How do you grow a culture when it's almost all remote?" asked Jim Harris, CEO of Trademark Properties, a commercial real estate company in Raleigh.

Harris says demand for office space is off by about 30% as companies consider shorter leases and wait to see how the pandemic plays out.

"I think there's an appeal to working remotely or having that flexibility," Harris said, "but there's also studies showing that we're not meant to be alone as it plays out. It's harder to unplug when you're always at home, for instance, and it's harder to have creative, unintended conversations."

For those who do return, offices are being reconfigured for personal space, Harris said.

"There may be less cubicles, but where there are some cubicles, they're going higher partitions. They're doing larger hallways. They're doing larger conference rooms or meeting spaces."

Employers will eventually be able to require workers to get coronavirus vaccinations

Slavitt said employers who want workers to return must focus on continued safety protocols, including mask wearing, encouraging vaccinations and including incentives for doing so and communicating the steps they are taking through websites, internal messaging and social media.

Some companies are offering financial bonuses or gift cards with proof of vaccination.

"We need to really support the reasons people do want to come back to the office and make it compelling enough that they will want to come back to the office," Geigerman said.

The discussion was hosted by Catapult, a North Carolina-based consultant with a goal "to help employers address their biggest challenges in creating exceptional workplaces," according to its website.

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