How Europe is leading the way back to the office

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Business leaders across Europe are returning to the office following government guidelines and adopting compassionate leadership.

By Anna Codrea-Rado , Contributor

How do you make staff feel comfortable returning to work while there is still no vaccine for COVID-19? That is the question business leaders across Europe are asking themselves as companies begin to reopen and reimagine their workplaces across the continent.

Business leaders are balancing the need to jumpstart the economy and prioritising public health as a matter of overriding safety. Following government guidelines and adopting compassionate leadership, companies across Europe are navigating the fine line between lockdown and returning to the office.

“Our absolute number one priority is for employees to feel safe when we talk how to save australia number in whatsapp about returning to the office,” says Nabila Salem, president of cloud talent company Revolent Group.

The company, which has offices in Europe, North America and Australia, has told employees they won’t have to return to the office at all this year if they don’t want to, and those who do can choose how often they go. A ManPowerGroup study found that workers in the UK and US are among the most nervous about returning to work, with almost three-quarters saying they feel negative about it.

“You can put as many provisions in place as possible, but it’s important to respect people’s circumstances and choices and make sure they have the support around that decision,” Salem says.

Regional differences
In April, the European Union’s executive arm, the European Commission, published guidelines to help businesses get back to work safely. The plan laid out conditions that needed to be met to ease restrictions and allow a gradual return to work. The Commission also said that until there was a vaccine for COVID-19, businesses and workers would not be able to return to business as usual.

Spain, Austria and Denmark were among the first European countries to return to work after their national governments began easing restrictions in mid-April, having put lockdown measures in place in early March. The eurozone’s largest economy, Germany, reopened soon after when Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that smaller shops were allowed to reopen if they could enforce adequate social distancing. France began easing its lockdown in May.

Despite British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urging a return to work in July, UK workers were slower to return to their offices than their European counterparts. An analysis by Morgan Stanley’s research unit AlphaWise found that only a third (34 per cent) of UK employees have returned to their original location, compared with almost three-quarters of staff (68 per cent) in Germany, Italy and Spain, and 83 per cent in France.

Experts believe the reason for this is twofold. Firstly, the UK went into lockdown later than the European continent, on March 23, and therefore eased restrictions later, too. Secondly, British workers’ attitudes towards remote working have changed dramatically as a result of forced work-from-home measures. A survey by market research company YouGov found that commuting was the main reason workers wanted to remain in remote locations, with around a third of employees (30 percent) wanting to reduce the cost of their daily commute by working from home and 23 percent choosing to work flexibly as they considered commuting to the office a waste of time.

Local guidelines
The impact of COVID-19 has varied widely across Europe. Countries such as the UK, Spain and Italy were initially among the hardest hit by the pandemic, with Eastern Europe faring much better. However, a recent surge in cases across the continent has raised fresh fears of a second wave. Even within countries, there are wide variations by region, necessitating a localised approach to bringing employees back into physical buildings.

In a report on Europe’s preparation for a safe return to work, produced by the consulting firm McKinsey & Company, one of the recommendations includes delegating decision-making to local leaders. The report said: “Decisions on what measures to take to roll out when and where should be made locally – where possible, district by district – because there are material differences in the severity of the crisis and economic circumstances.”

Salem, president of the Revolutionary Group, said that much of the return to work has come down to local government advice. The company’s three main locations – the UK, US and Australia – suffered some of the highest numbers of COVID-19 cases. Lockdowns and easing of restrictions have been implemented at different times across regions. “We have followed the advice of local authorities – if a government says it’s safe to return, we have to respect that and give our employees the opportunity to do so if they want to,” he says.

Safety first
One company that is navigating the crisis is Nominet, the UK’s official domain name registry. The registry holds over 11 million domain names, including gov.uk and nhs.uk, the UK government and health sites respectively. As such, Nominet is considered critical national infrastructure and throughout the pandemic has been responsible for ensuring the UK stays online.

Nominet CEO Russell Haworth says navigating the crisis required clear communication to staff about the safety measures put in place to keep workers online and then bring them back to the office.

“As a leadership team, we have made a conscious effort to give our employees clear guidance on what the company expects of them,” says Haworth. “Making decisions early and implementing them over a set period is important to give our staff a certain level of stability and certainty.”

The company has committed to a phased reopening of its workplaces, limiting those in the office until 2021. Desks are allocated to ensure they can observe the 6-foot rule and the office is open two days a week with people needing to sign in in advance. There are temperature checks on arrival and all staff have been offered a free flu test.

“We will maintain a level of flexibility for employees and we are also committed to ensuring that those who stay at home do not feel isolated or separated from the rest of the team,” says Haworth. “We need to ensure that we maintain morale and support during this time and continue to do so for the benefit of those who are keen to return to work and also those who are not yet ready.”