Leaders look to bridge the gap between employee generations as return to office mandates kick in

Some organisations, especially in the IT sector, recently issued strict orders asking their mid-career professionals to return to the office. Some return-to-office mandates had led to the rise of terms such as coffee badging and office peacocking, which we had discussed recently. But what does this mandate mean from a leader’s point of view?

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The underlying reasons for the shift

Guruvayurappan PV, CHRO at Omega Healthcare, says large IT and tech services companies are bringing back employees to the office mainly for two reasons. First, the clients these organisations serve insist that their service providers work from a secure environment and ensure that the work systems are protected from any cyber threats. Additionally, in-office interactions facilitate collaboration and team bonding, which enhances productivity.

Second, employees of big tech companies were always in favour of working from home — even in the pre-pandemic era. However, at home, the unavailability of a good working environment due to distractions, and the lack of visibility of employee performance urged the management to implement in-office mandates.

The policy implications

Anshuman Das, CEO and Co-Founder of Careernet, says in this situation, HR policies must accommodate employee needs to motivate and engage the workers effectively. A good percentage of mid- to lower-level employees returning to office will consist of individuals with family responsibilities and women returning from work sabbaticals.