Disruption Looms as Workers Return to the Office

As the global disaster of our generation wanes and people begin to emerge from isolation, misaligned expectations about the future of remote work models start to appear. Surveys show that much of the workforce has enjoyed the benefits of working from home. Conversely, many employers are anxious to get employees back in the office and return to the traditional ways of engagement. Organizations are already experiencing the friction. Leadership must prevail to avoid serious business disruption. This may be the moment when Hybrid Working rises to become an accepted practice in the corporate world.

A cascading chain of events precipitated much of the world into isolation and over a year ago, businesses were abruptly forced to adapt. Where it was possible, employees immediately shifted to a remote work model, often working from home. It was a brutal change, unfamiliar to most, that happened very suddenly. Organizations rushed to explore options, deploy tools, and embrace services to enable employees to remain productive.

Employees were frustrated with the unfamiliar tools and stark differences between being physically in an office setting and face-to-face with clients. Madness ensued as people struggled with video conferencing mute settings, bewildered with configuring web cameras, and aggravated with the lack of rich interaction by joining…