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As the hybrid and remote work revolution continues to reshape the corporate landscape, the idea of returning to the office is transforming. While in-person interactions for team collaborations and events remain important, there are several lesser-known advantages to returning to the office.
To that end, 18 Forbes Human Resources Council members explore the often-overlooked benefits professionals can reap from physically returning to their workplace. From increased productivity and enhanced work-life balance to fostering creativity and strengthening corporate culture, here's why they believe in-person work arrangements can have a big impact on a team.
1. Live Observation
Live observation is a great way to learn. Observing the way people move and carry themselves in a business setting can be challenging to replicate in a solely virtual environment. In-person experiences tend to promote faster human connection, unprompted discussions stemming from intellectual curiosity, informal mentorship and impromptu on-the-job training. - Joyce Jelks, Wieden + Kennedy
2. Mental Health Benefits
Given the adverse effects some experience with the isolation and loneliness that can come with remote and hybrid work, in-person social interactions—no matter how brief or informal—can be a net positive in terms of mental health. By nature, we are social creatures energized and inspired by connection and often find meaning by forming bonds supported and reinforced by being physically present. - Will Gaines, Super Store Industries
3. Mentorship For Young Professionals
Young people disproportionately benefit from hands-on mentorship and coaching. This is more easily achieved in a face-to-face context. Early career professionals who work remotely face challenges due to reduced access to mentorship. They also experience less exposure to the established best practices of seasoned employees, which tend to be assimilated more naturally in an office setting. - Heide Abelli, SageX
4. Impromptu Connections
Company culture and common connections are powerful components of returning to the office. The ability to network, build relationships and understand different perspectives happens much more innately when people are physically together. Impromptu connections create a sense of belonging and can often help solve problems in real time, in my experience, eliminating stress. - Andrea Ferrara, PepsiCo Beverages North America
5. Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal communication, which can be up to 70% (or more) of communication, is often lost in remote environments through video lag, sound quality that impacts tonal variations, false eye contact and the increasing trend of "cameras off" during "video" calls. The more communication takes place in face-to-face environments, the more effective communication will be between teams, departments and leaders. - David Hawthorne, Pacific Bells
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6. Shared Experiences
Shared experiences in the office are how we build bonds and make friends. As human beings, this is important for our well-being. From a business perspective, returning to the office in a hybrid work environment gives us an opportunity to nurture a shared identity, values and team spirit. This translates into better teams and increased productivity. - Kshitij Jain, Joveo
7. Employer Brand Growth
In-person collaboration offers a multi-sensory, human experience that deepens employees’ connection to and perception of your employer brand. Enhance this impact with shared, immersive experiences that reinforce your vision, values and what you have to offer as an employer. Integrate storytelling and opportunities for ambassadorship, and leverage videography to amplify your employer brand impact. - Nicole Fernandes, Beyond Culture, Inc.
8. Collegiality
There is always collegial energy in any workspace. Some conversations aren't worth "jumping on a quick Zoom." They used to happen in hallways and lunch rooms. That's the extra benefit we've been missing with remote work. It's a beautiful thing. - Elizabeth Roberts, eGenesis, Inc.
9. Proper Equipment And Fast Technology Repairs
While hybrid work can improve work-life balance, it can also mean working without the proper equipment or employing home remedies for workstation setups. While workers can design a nice “cloffice” (closet/office) or "open concept" office (for example, the kitchen) to work from, it doesn’t replace the physical space, furniture and immediate technology repairs that are available in an office. - Jennifer Rozon, McLean & Company
10. Stronger Connections
Hybrid work demands planning to ensure all team members feel connected and valued for their contributions whether working remotely or in the office. One benefit of returning to the office is to build relationships for stronger connections. Having a relationship with someone fosters improved communication, productivity and an easier time working through ideas, challenges and issues. - Sherry Martin, Government Administration
11. 'Goal Contagion'
The workplace fosters a sense of serendipity that allow work and trust-building to progress. You might bump into colleagues while thinking about a problem and the chat leads to a new solution. "Goal contagion" is when you see the actions of other people and you embrace their same goals. Working with a group of people who are on the same mission reinforces that goal in the workplace. - Robyn Arville, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
12. Organizational Culture And Identity Growth
Enhancement of organizational culture and identity is a benefit. Being physically present, in a shared workspace, can reinforce a sense of belonging and a shared mission among employees, which is harder to cultivate remotely. - Britton Bloch, Navy Federal
13. Sponsorship
Sponsorship thrives in the office. In-person interactions and close proximity enhance the ability to discover, forge and nurture sponsor relationships, fostering deeper connections, collaboration and a heightened sense of energy. - Elisabetta Bartoloni, Heidrick & Struggles
14. Passive Learning Opportunities
The benefit of passive learning is enormous. Malcolm Gladwell recently said that as a young reporter at The Washington Post, he sat a few desks down from the great Bob Woodward. Gladwell said that had he read a book by Woodward on how to be a great reporter he would not have learned as much as being proximate to the guy. Think about the utility of proximity for new hires, those changing roles. - David Bator, Achievers
15. Work-Life Balance
Hybrid work enables the team to both build a great company and manage their lives in a respectful manner. "Returning to the office" call in the age of video conferencing and fast-developing AR solutions goes against progress. - Nick Frey, Avomind
16. Opportunity For Those Seeking A Promotion
For those hoping for a promotion or applying for a new position within the company, returning to work in the office can be beneficial. Though it may not be fair, proximity bias can cause management to show preferential treatment to those they see or interact with on a regular basis over those who remain behind the scenes. Regardless of remote work’s conveniences, in some instances, there’s no substitute for facetime. - John Feldmann, Insperity
17. Visibility For Marginalized Groups
For marginalized groups, facetime is a huge bonus of returning to the office. While remote, it’s easy to be shut out of meetings—maybe you don’t even realize the meetings are happening—where big decisions are being made. In person, you can see when you need to be included and advocate for yourself, or better yet, others can see you and remember to keep you involved. - Ursula Mead, InHerSight
18. Togetherness
The biggest advantage is for the employees to create a feeling of togetherness which is more psychological than anything else and for a new employee to feel the culture of the organization through their own lived experiences. Unfortunately, so little can be done through offline working and by not connecting the emotional part, employees will not be engaged and loyal to the organization. - Prakash Raichur, Taghleef Industries
