Don't invest in a return to office. Invest in better tech

Leaders across the country are rolling out return-to-work mandates in the name of better engagement and boosted productivity. But for real results, those efforts may be better spent investing in technology instead. 

Ninety percent of companies plan to implement return-to-office policies by the end of 2024, according to a recent report from Resume Builder. In a 2022 survey from Korn Ferry, two-thirds agreed that corporate culture accounts for more than 30% of their company's market value, leading many managers to believe that a strong culture can only be established and maintained from occupying the same space. But investing in better tech could be the key to achieving that without sacrificing remote and hybrid work.

"Let me just say that video-calling technology was a godsend during the pandemic," says Neeha Curtis, vice president of global communications at Jugo, a video communication program. "It allowed us to figure out that we can work remotely, but it hasn't advanced with the workforce in the last few years. That has led leaders to think that it's better to be in person, because these video calling programs are just not working." 

Read more: Are return-to-work mandates really the solution to productivity?

Simply enabling communication is no longer companies' biggest concern in a post-pandemic world, Curtis points out. Today's challenges are not about connectivity, but about engagement, and ensuring that employees in offices and remote settings alike can collaborate and feel like part of the same mission. The Brady Bunch-style grid we're all accustomed to, Curtis says, is not encouraging engagement. 

"That digital fatigue that we're all experiencing is because in meetings, you're focusing on everybody [on the grid] at the exact same time," she says. "We wanted to recreate a scene of what it's like when you're actually in a meeting in person." 

Jugo, which is compatible with most leading video platforms, is designed to tailor every "room" to physically reflect the company using it — meaning that it can resemble what a real-life conference room in any particular office building would look like. The meeting itself is also entirely customizable once inside. Those in charge of the meeting can physically move their avatar or stream to the "front" of the room, helping attendees focus and minimizing virtual noise and distractions. Speakers can also run presentations and videos simultaneously without having to "share screen," much like one would if they were in a conference room with a projector. 

These kinds of upgrades to communication styles may seem small, but they make a significant difference when it comes to creating more effective and engaging meetings for a remote workforce, who are otherwise productive in their day-to-day tasks. In fact, forcing people back to the office could actually have the opposite reaction employers are looking for. In 2021, when remote and hybrid work were still the dominant style, productivity rose by 2.2%, according to Korn Ferry. But in 2022, as additional workers filed into office buildings, productivity decreased 1.6%. 

Read more: IT departments, stretched thin amid hybrid work, are craving AI support

"We're at a crossroads here with the return to work," Curtis says. "Instead of investing in technology to make remote work and hybrid setting work, it's like we're saying that it's too hard. So instead, we're just going to go back to the way that we used to do it and forget all the advances that we've made to make people's lives better in the last few years." 

Curtis uses her own experience as an example. As a working mother that lives outside of the city, her commute time was nearly two hours pre-pandemic, meaning she would often miss getting to drop her daughter off at the bus stop or cooking dinner with her family. The same goes for families everywhere — and forcing them back into time consuming regimens may end up hurting employees' willingness to engage rather than help it. 

"Nothing is going to replace that feeling of happy hour with coworkers and no one's stopping any company from having those kinds of events — It's just not all or nothing," she says. "You can have a remote work and hybrid work organization while having team building events. And good leaders know that."