Experts: How Should You Respond If You’re Asked To Return To the Office but You Don’t Want To?
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Jenny Rose Spaudo
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Molly Sullivan
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After about two years of working remotely during the pandemic, many employees may find they don’t want to return to the office again. And yet 50% of leaders say their company is requiring in-person work in the year ahead, according to recent data from Microsoft.
If your boss wants you to return to the office but you don’t want to, what are your options? Can you negotiate? Or should you simply comply to avoid putting your job at risk? GOBankingRates interviewed career experts to find answers to those questions.
Understand the Company’s Policies First
Before asking your boss if you can work from home, it’s important to understand the company’s policies and norms, said Kimberly Brown, a career expert and CEO of Manifest Yourself.
Has your company already created policies around how to respond to employees who refuse to return to the office?
“You never want to jeopardize your employment by playing ‘hardball,’ so it’s key that you know what the policies are so you can make a well-informed plan prior to having formal conversations with your company,” Brown said.
Find Out Why Corporate Wants You To Return To the Office
Next, try to learn why your company wants employees to work on-site.
“For a lot of businesses at the moment, it’s because they want to re-establish a work community, and for a lot of people, it’s easier to talk face to face than via Teams or Zoom,” said Nikki Pak, a communications and engagement professional and founder of Winning in Work. “Some people are more productive in the office than at home.”
When asking your employee about the rationale behind their request, be sure to keep the conversation light and positive, Pak recommended.
Show That You Can Still Meet Expectations While Working Remotely
Make sure you can demonstrate your effectiveness while working from home.
“If you’ve already been working remotely and are being asked to come back in, you should have months of data and performance metrics to pull from that prove you can still deliver what’s expected,” said Connie Steele, an author, business and career strategist, and expert in the future of work and life.
Suggest a Trial Period of Working From Home
If your hard numbers don’t convince your employer, consider asking for a trial period to demonstrate your effectiveness. Just realize that your boss may ask for recurring meetings so you can touch base and share updates on your projects.
“Remember, ongoing communication is key,” Steele said. “Be proactive, not reactive, by anticipating what your manager may want to know regarding your projects. If you keep them informed often, they will develop a trust in your ability to stay on top of the activity even when you’re remote or hybrid.”
Negotiate a Hybrid Schedule or a Phased Approach
If you successfully worked from home during the pandemic, it may be easier to ask to keep working remotely. However, if your colleagues are all returning to the office, that request may be more difficult.
“It’s always helpful to offer a hybrid schedule where you’d come to the office for any key stakeholder or team meetings at a regular cadence,” Brown said. “I recommend positioning your ask as a trial for one to three months to see how it works for your team.”
But what if your employer doesn’t like that idea? You can also pitch a phased approach.
“For example, if everyone is returning to work three days per week, you can start doing the same but, in two weeks, drop down to two days in the office and, in another month, drop down to one day,” Brown explained. “Ultimately, you’d end up being fully remote again in one to two months, but you made yourself available in the initial return-to-office plan.”
If You Need To Quit, Try Not To Burn Bridges
In some cases, your employer may not be willing to listen despite your respectful, data-driven conversations. Depending on how important working remotely is to you, you may want to consider finding another position, whether under a different manager or in another company entirely.
In this case, it’s important to clearly document how you tried to work with your manager and couldn’t, Steele said.
“Even if it doesn’t work out and you need to find a new job, going through this process of documentation and proactive communication should give you clarity on exactly what you want from your next job and how well you can perform,” she said.
Just be careful not to burn bridges, warned Pak: “You never know when you will see your manager or colleagues again.”
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