The arduous journey back to in-office working

Regular readers of my blogs will recall my article titled, ‘It’s back, back, back to work I go’ published on 25 August, which concluded:

‘Some companies in South Africa are returning to their work-from-the-office policies, although, as can be expected, there are many employees who are not at all happy about this. Watch this space’.

Well, if you’re still ‘watching this space’, allow me to put you out of your misery!

It is common cause that remote working increased exponentially during the COVID-19 pandemic, with many employers welcoming, indeed encouraging, their employees to work from home.

As highlighted in my previous article, many companies around the world have been mandating their employees to return, in person, to their places of work. Some employers have demanded their employees return to their places of work full-time, whilst others have proposed the compromise of a hybrid model, whereby employees spend between 40% and 60% of their working week at their places of work, and the balance working remotely from home.

Notwithstanding the fact that employees in general, and younger employees in particular, would prefer to continue working from home, the majority of CEOs in Southern Africa are desirous of having their employees return to the office in the next few years.

A recent report published by KPMG, ‘2023 CEO Outlook’, suggests that just over 70% of Southern African CEOs supported a return to in-person work within the next three years, with the residual +/- 30% of respondents supporting a hybrid, or remote, model of working for their employees.

The 70% (of Southern African CEOs) in favour of a return to an in-person work model is in line with global trends, whereas 64% of CEOs, internationally, are said to be in favour of a full return to work for their employees.

Despite this, 87% of CEOs in Southern Africa indicated that were willing to incentivise their employees who returned to the office, by providing them with favourable assignments, raises, and promotions ‘as the younger workforce enjoyed the autonomy and flexibility of remote work’.

“Although this is the sentiment across Southern Africa, it is crucial that employers remain supportive in their approach that considers the needs of employees whilst embracing employee value proposition,” KPMG said.

In other news, data obtained from Lightstone Properties suggest that more and more employees are returning to their offices globally, as well as in South Africa.

“The numbers suggest people are returning to pre-COVID work patterns but are not quite there yet,” concluded Lightstone.

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