How returning to the office can support employee mental health

As employers call their workers back to the office this fall, many employees will arrive grumbling and frustrated to be back to the pre-pandemic grind. But done right, in-person work can be a solution to the mental health strain and job dissatisfaction that's plagued the workforce for years. 

Research by ResumeBuilder estimates that 90% of organizations will return to the office by the end of 2024, and of those who already have a RTO mandate in place, 72% say they see improved productivity, retention and workplace relationships. But those benefits don't just support a company's bottom line, says Laura Putnam, workplace well-being expert and author. 

"There's no doubt people want to be able to continue to work remotely, but there's definitely a disconnect between what people think that they want, versus what in the long run might be good for them," Putnam says. "It's not enough for people to be socially connected just outside of work. It's absolutely essential that work time is also a time for people to be connecting socially." 

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Workplace connections can foster friendships, which can improve physical and mental well-being. In-person work can also help make connections with managers and higher level executives, offering opportunities for career development and greater job satisfaction, Putnam says. 

But employers need to approach return-to-office requests the right way and be prepared to do the work to improve company culture overall. Putnam shares why in-office work is so important to combating loneliness and improving employee well-being, and how employers can facilitate connections while maintaining employee autonomy. 

There seems to be a disconnect between employees' desire to work remotely and organizations' return-to-office mandates. Who is in the right here? 

We as human beings have this incredibly deep need for autonomy — we want to have flexibility in terms of how we work, when we work. But working from home may not be good for the employer, or for the employee, especially over time. Employees are less likely to be connected with others and this is contributing to a rise in loneliness. There just isn't the opportunity for the kind of connection that really can serve as the glue for that kind of social fabric that we can experience when we're at work.  

"Watercooler cooler talk" has historically been seen as being unproductive, but it's actually incredibly important in terms of providing opportunities for employees to be able to connect with one another as human beings, to connect with their managers and even to executives. When these interactive interactions happen, it can boost creativity, but it also can really boost engagement with work. There's Gallup research showing that employees who have not just a good friend at work, but a best friend at work, are seven times more likely to be highly engaged. 

What is the impact on employees who are missing out on those social connections in the workplace? 
We've got this rising loneliness epidemic, which certainly was happening pre-pandemic, and three months ago, the Surgeon General released a report on loneliness and warned that remote work will only add to the loneliness epidemic. Loneliness is not only bad for our mental health, but it's even bad for physical health — there are studies showing that the effects of intense loneliness are on par with the physical effects of smoking 15 cigarettes a day. 

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There is also evidence to suggest that when people aren't connecting at work, they actually get out of the habit of connecting outside of work. And so while intuitively, we might think, "If people are working remotely, they're going to make that much more of an effort to connect with one another outside of work," actually, the exact opposite has been happening.  

How can employers facilitate those connections without angering employees with stringent return-to-work mandates? 
I see a lot of superficial perks, like, get a free lunch when you come into work. Ultimately, those really don't work in the long-run. What really works is an assurance that employees will continue to have this level of flexibility that they've been afforded through remote work. That means having conversations with employees and helping them to better understand the residual effects of working from home, and how, yes, coming into the office is good for the company, but it's also really good for people to socially connect. It's good for learning on the job, and for an increase in job satisfaction. 

How can managers facilitate those conversations and build an in-office culture that's beneficial for employees? 
Instead of micromanaging, really help employees to have more control over how they manage their day. And employers have to be willing to do the work. Research overwhelmingly suggests that things like rising burnout, loneliness, anxiety and depression have more to do with the workplace itself. Is toxicity tolerated? Is there a lack of communication from one's supervisor? It's things like work overload and unreasonable pressure. The reality is that no mindfulness app or platform can stand up to the weight of somebody having to do three jobs and having to tolerate a toxic boss. 

Read more: 4 ways employers can build meaningful connections in a post-pandemic workplace

This is a conversation that I had with employers over and over again: Are you looking for check-the-box kinds of solutions, or are you actually going to dig in and do the work? A willingness to look at deeper systemic issues across the organization is going to help, and then doing the work to really empower leaders and particularly managers to understand the critical role that they play.