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Return to Office Survey: Employers Focused on Culture in Hybrid Environment

By Margaret Faso posted 04-01-2022 14:06

  

HR Policy’s recent return to office survey, featuring responses from 97 members, found that over half of the respondents have implemented return to office plans and less than 30% require vaccination to return to the workplace. 

61% of companies have already implemented return to office plans while 26% plan to return in the Spring of 2022.

  • 73% of return to office policies apply to all offices and employees.
      
  • 11% of respondents selected “other” including global companies allowing for regional or team-based flexibility. 

77% believe 2-3 days a week in the workplace is valuable to maintain company culture and 58% of companies are “very” or “somewhat concerned” about employees refusing to return to the office. To address these concerns, companies are doing the following:

  • 75% are prioritizing communication with employees on safety protocols and policies;
      
  • 59% are planning fun or interesting things at the office to entice workers to come in;
      
  • 50% are reducing the number of “in office” days per week; and
      
  • 50% are allowing each team to manage their return to office policy. 

Ways companies are reinforcing company culture in a hybrid environment include:

  • Manager and leadership training on how to lead in a hybrid environment;

  • Making the office a “destination” with perks and in-office collaborative activities;

  • Increasing communication on policies and hosting town halls, webinars, and listening sessions to engage employees; and

  • Testing new approaches to onboarding and training for employees.

Few companies now require vaccination to return to the workplace. 30% of companies do not require vaccination but provide incentives for employees to get vaccinated, while 20% have no vaccine policy at all. Of the companies not requiring vaccination:

  • 88% do not require employees to be tested before returning to the workplace;
      
  • Of the 9% that will require testing, more than half (57%) will cover costs for all employees. 

The full survey results can be found here.

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