What office perks would bring you back to the office? Vornado Realty Trust is spending $1.2B to renovate two buildings near Penn Station that will have the “wow” factor. They will have pickleball courts, restaurants, coworking spaces, and more. Workers will be able to get unlimited massages, dip a variety of foods in chocolate fountains, and have their choice of ponies to take home to their loving children. Ok, that last part isn’t true, but would it make a difference if it was? Even paying people more doesn’t seem to be a sufficient incentive to bring people back to an office situation that doesn’t provide value.
Getting There
The number one reason workers don’t want to go back to the office is the commute. No one likes it. The average one-way commute is around 25 minutes if you are driving, or double that if you are taking public transportation. So that’s about an hour a day that you aren’t getting back, plus the cost of gas, parking, etc.
Other than the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) that is part of most military assignments, most jobs don’t include a portion of the pay specifically to address living in a particular area. It’s a more holistic fee for life in a particular area, but commuting is part of that. In the past two years, job listings that included benefits for commuting to work rose 43 percent. This is according to an analysis by workforce and labor demographic firm Lightcast. It’s a notable tidbit, but still only affects just over 1% of job listings. For most jobs, commuting is still table stakes. No matter what sort of incentives you apply to it, commuting doesn’t get any better. Even a better marketing campaign probably won’t help.
Office Perks like Fine Corinthian Leather
In 1975, Ricardo Montalban introduced the world to the Chrysler Cordoba. You need to be over 50 to remember the commercials about the “Fine Corinthian Leather”. It was one of the key selling points for the car. And it was made up by the advertising agency. The leather for all Chrysler cars came from the same company in Newark, New Jersey.
CEOs are trying to put a similar spin on the benefits of returning to the office. Upgrading office infrastructure and providing ergonomic furniture are being touted as benefits. I’m not sure it competes with a favorite chair at home though. Pile on enhancing amenities such as lounges, recreational areas, and well-equipped meeting rooms and you are still just putting lipstick on a pig. You might have a cooler office compared to other office options, but would you rather be in an office or somewhere of your choosing?
Mentorship
One of the main incentives, or office perks, that keeps showing up in return to office arguments is the mentorship that workers receive by being in an office setting. In almost 40 years of working, I’ve had very little mentorship that occurred in an office setting. The reality is that most of the people who would be doing the mentoring, don’t want to be in the office either. And for those that don’t pull back from resentment, others have gotten used to being able to focus while they are home. So they come into the office, shut the door, and put on the headphones if they don’t need to be in a meeting. Mentoring doesn’t happen by osmosis.
The reality is that businesses need to develop an intentional mentoring program that can happen anywhere. The office is not part of the equation. It might happen in the office or not, but it shouldn’t matter. Forcing it into a particular model just creates a structure where mentoring is not likely to happen.
Collaboration
The main reason that gets cited with the return to office arguments is the need for collaboration. Unfortunately, this is a logical fallacy. The assumption is that being together equals being in the office. These are different things. A recent Gallup poll showed that 2-3 days together was the sweet spot for collaboration. More than that and engagement plummets. For workers that regularly collaborate, the second best option for engagement was 0 days in the office. When you think about the cost of providing full-time office space for all staff, it just doesn’t make sense. It’s time to rethink the office. Spaces for collaboration are great. But the question is how much do you need?
The Big Questions
The more you peel back the onion you need to start asking some big questions like:
- Why do you need incentives to get people to an office setting?
- What are the space needs of your organization?
- Does the office provide value?
- Where does real collaboration happen?
If Ricardo Montalban was still with us, I’m sure some company would be using him to pitch, “Look what they’ve done to my office”. Some people would probably buy into it for a while. But much like the Chrysler Cordoba, people will eventually figure out the office hasn’t really changed.
