How to Maximise Office Attendance in the Hybrid Work Era

Many businesses are looking for ways to bring their employees back to the office.

There’s plenty of interest in "maximising office attendance" — managers are still searching for it on Google. We routinely see companies mandate a return to the office (which can be a polarising move). 

Expectations of work are changing, though. Increasing office attendance isn’t always the right goal — as we’ll see below. But if it’s something you need to do, it’s worth doing right. 

We’ve put together some advice on how to increase attendance at your workplace without lowering morale.  

Strategies for maximising office attendance 

Some organisations might have legitimate reasons to increase office attendance. Perhaps you genuinely need to talk to customers face-to-face, or maybe the company culture thrives on in-person interaction. If it's your priority to improve office attendance, you need to do so in a way that respects employee needs and preferences to reduce the risk of losing talent (notably, remote working reduces quit rates by 35% and hybrid is valued at roughly an 8% increase in pay to employees!).

So why the push for in office attendance, and why are some mandating a full return to office? Well, increasing office attendance can theoretically boost productivity in some circumstances. We can see from Owl Labs’ State of Hybrid Work Report that while the majority of workers feel more productive in hybrid work roles, there’s still a significant group that don’t.

In fact, 25% of workers feel that the office is the best place for innovation and brainstorming and 34% of hybrid workers say they’re more productive when managing others in the office. These are not small chunks of the workforce, and there’s clearly positives from being in the office some of the time.

Nick Bloom from Stanford has released data showing that hybrid workers themselves dont want to be working from home everyday (source).

We’re, therefore, asking the question: how can companies encourage and facilitate office attendance in a hybrid environment?

Below are some flexible, employee-centric strategies that go beyond simply mandating a return to the office (note mandatory days are mandatory and therefore do not count as flexible working!):

‍Collaborative scheduling

Encourage individual teams to work together to determine their in-office days. This creates a sense of ownership and allows teams to plan a schedule that works for their specific team needs. For instance, they could choose to have all team members come in on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for collaborative work while allowing for individual flexibility on other days.

‍Pros:

• Facilitates a sense of teamwork and ownership among staff, as they are involved in scheduling decisions.
• Creates permanent collaboration opportunities due to ‘set days’.
• Can improve job satisfaction and employee retention by respecting individual work preferences within a team context.

• Cons:
  • Can lead to high overhead costs due to the need for maintaining space that can accommodate all team members on peak days (the biggest issue with mandatory days is the capacity cost that is underutilised on non-mandatory days).
  • May not suit all types of work or employee needs within the team, leading to potential disengagement or inefficiency.
  • Coordinating schedules across multiple teams can be complex and time-consuming.

Themed office days‍

Structure in-office time around particular forms of social interaction or engagement. If employees know they’ll be engaging in meaningful activities when they come in, they’re more likely to see the value of being present. This could include dedicated block scheduling for brainstorming sessions, team projects, or social events.

• Pros:
  • Creates a compelling reason for employees to come to the office, enhancing engagement and participation.
  • Can help in building a strong company culture through structured social and professional interactions.
  • Makes office days more predictable and structured, which can help in planning and resource allocation.
• Cons:
  • Requires continuous creative input and organisational effort to keep themes engaging and relevant.
  • Can become repetitive or forced, potentially reducing the perceived value over time.
  • Can result in inefficient days, where staff have commuted in for a certain activity and then have no further reason to be in the office.

Improved office environment‍

Invest in making the office a more attractive and enjoyable place to be. This could involve creating a variety of workspaces to suit different needs, with amenities like comfortable break areas, or simply keeping the office well-maintained and aesthetically pleasing. If coming to the office feels like a treat rather than a chore, employees will be more inclined to show up.

• Pros:
  • Carrot-led approach to attracting employees to the office, which may feel more appealing to staff than the stick.
  • Can lead to increased productivity and well-being by providing spaces that cater to various needs and preferences (DEI).
  • Enhances company image (certainly for photos!) and can be a selling point in recruitment.
• Cons:
  • High initial investment and ongoing maintenance costs.
  • May not be a strong enough draw for employees who prefer remote work and therefore lead to underutilisation.
  • Doesn’t solve the problem of people commuting in and potentially finding their team are at home, or there aren’t enough desks near their team

Flexible work policies‍

Offer options like compressed workweeks or flexible start and finish times to accommodate people’s needs and preferences. This allows employees to manage their work-life balance better, supporting their wellbeing and making it easier for them to integrate office days into their routines.

• Pros:
  • Directly addresses employee needs for work-life balance, which can boost morale and productivity.
  • Attractive for prospective employees, enhancing the company’s ability to recruit top talent.
  • Can reduce office congestion and utility costs by spreading out office attendance.
• Cons:
  • May be difficult to manage and require robust systems to track and ensure fairness.
  • Potential for confusion or feelings of inequity if policies are not applied consistently.
  • Can lead to challenges in collaboration and communication if team members are working vastly different schedules.

Coordinated hybrid

‍Offer a digital tool (like Blinktime!), to enable employees to align their office days with each other by viewing team availability and workspace capacity in advance. This approach ensures that staff can plan their commutes based on when their colleagues and friends will be present and when there will be enough resources and space available in or around their chosen ‘work zone’ or designated work area. This can be implemented with a minimum number of days to be in the office, or left open.

• Pros:
  • Carrot-led approach where employees choose to go to the office on days when they’ll get value from being with colleagues / friends. 
  • Smarter office attendance means companies can optimise the use of office space and resources, potentially saving up to 43% on desk costs compared to mandated hybrid days, or fully in office models (similarly, it means office capacity can last longer as headcount grows).
  • With the digital tool, companies can report on office utilisation and attendance, to better plan future office decisions and engagement events.
• Cons:
  • Coordinating schedules across multiple teams and departments can be challenging with clunky or poorly designed tech, particularly for larger organisations with many offices and departments.
  • Employees are required to engage with the tool in order for it to work best, which requires a thought-through comms plan and implementation strategy.
  • I can’t think of a third one so if you have read this far and have one in mind, email me at hello@blinktime.io and I’ll give you a free seat on Blinktime for 3 months and a Blinktime cap!

All of the above methods should be considered and led by data-driven decision-making.  Using workplace occupancy software (again, like Blinktime!) allows companies to understand workers’ preferences and tailor policies accordingly. This data can give insights into which days are most popular for office attendance, which spaces are most frequently used, and what employees value most in their work environment. Understanding these preferences can help improve attendance by ensuring there’s a return on investment for whichever route is decided upon.