The Covid-19 pandemic has changed people’s views about working from the office. Before the pandemic, people traditionally braved the traffic and then spent a full day in the office, before joining the queues of motorists making their way home.

The thinking was that a person needed to physically be present in the office to be productive. Before the pandemic hit, there was a mindset shift that saw some employers redefining work productivity and the environment. Once South Africa went into lockdown, the inevitable happened – employers and employees were thrust into a new way of doing things.

Once the scramble for laptops and data passed, working from home became the norm. Now, two years later, the virus is more manageable and the majority of workplaces want bums in office chairs again.

This means further change for employees, who once again must contend with traffic, dressing for work, increased pressure and workplace politics.

Industrial psychologist Mirriam Magethi of Magethi Industrial Psychology Services says it is important for managers, change management practitioners and human resources departments to work together in redefining work, while also looking at organisational structures to establish who really needs to work from the office.

According to her, researchers have found that employers in urban areas have come to realise that time spent in traffic can be more productively used when working from home.

While the lockdown transition may have forced some companies to relook at traditional work conventions, others want things back as they were pre-2020.

“Two years of working from home impacts your brain patterns in specific ways. Going back to the office can then be a challenge,” says Magethi.

Magethi gives five tips for employers to follow if they want the back-to-the-office process to go smoothly.

• Employers and employees alike should prepare, prepare, prepare.
• Change management can help.
• Communication between staff and management is important.
• Check on the well-being of your employees – physically and mentally.
• Do a periodic survey to see where your employees are in terms of the change.

Some employees are continuing to work from home. It is important they establish structures to keep work and family life apart, says Magethi.

• People working from home should focus on the goal at hand.
• Know your job description and what is expected of you.
• Create routine and a working space that enables you to switch off from the daily activities at home.
• Create a clear boundary between work time and family time and ask your managers to respect it.