Stop Asking The Office To Do Leadership's Job
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The number one reason I hear for bringing people back to the office is that it drives company culture. But I wonder why everyone seems to think that one of the oldest asset classes in the history of modern civilization is what drives a company’s culture?
I’ve spent my whole career in commercial real estate, so it would be hard to argue that I don’t believe the workplace matters. In fact, I often say my mission is to create a network of workspaces in the suburbs, so people, especially women, don't have to leave the workforce during any stage of life if they don't want to.
I've toured hundreds of offices over the years. Some have incredible energy. Others feel flat. And what I’ve witnessed firsthand is that it usually has very little to do with the office itself.
Culture Doesn't Come With The Lease
I've seen two companies occupy identical spaces within the coworking space that I operate. Same furniture. Same conference rooms. Same amenities. One felt alive; you could feel the energy of people connecting with one another. The other felt like a dentist’s waiting room where people couldn’t wait to leave. The office wasn't the difference. Leadership was.
It’s hard to believe that six years post-pandemic, companies are still announcing their return-to-office policies. And then comes the debate over whether the company is doing it to reduce headcount without announcing layoffs. But doesn’t that ignore the bigger question? Why are there still offices people don't want to go to in the first place?
We’re debating two different problems. One can be addressed with a policy. The other requires leadership. I always think about the famous quote from Steve Jobs: "We're paying people to tell us what to do. I don't view that we pay people to do things. That's easy — to find people to do things. What's harder is to find people to tell you what should be done." Employees know what a company values by what happens every day, not what’s posted on the website or written in a handbook.
If you say you're a results-driven company but bonuses are tied to badging into the office instead of results, people notice. If you say you support balance but you give people side-eye for signing off at 5 p.m. to catch a kid’s dance recital, people notice. If you say mental health is important, but people feel guilty taking PTO, people notice.
That's culture. Not Taco Tuesday. Not the espresso machine. Not a Slack channel called #pets-do-weird-things. Culture is what your people learn from watching what leaders actually do.
The Office Was Built For A Different Era
Let’s face it, so many of us are still trying to solve yesterday's workplace problems. Technology moves at the speed of light, and because we still have five generations in the workforce, many of us remember a time where we all had to be in the same building because that's where work happened.
If you wanted to share a document, you literally walked it over to someone's desk. Your phone was wired into the wall in your office. You didn't need a policy to get people into the office because there was no other way to do the job.
Today, that's no longer true. A recent study found that leaders with higher levels of narcissism were more likely to push back against remote work. One possible explanation the researchers offered is that it's easier to project status and authority when everyone is physically together.
That doesn't mean every leader who wants people back in the office has the wrong motivations. There are plenty of good reasons to bring people together. Not all have to do with driving the bottom line. My husband and I met at work, he asked me out on a date after passing me in the hallways and loved how I was always smiling.
We collaborate across time zones, take Zooms from just about anywhere and all carry the same computer in our pocket that has more power than an entire office did two decades ago. I run a midsize company with no headquarters, and we have a very strong culture. I can't rely on people bumping into each other at the watercooler. Communication has to be intentional, and there has to be a level of trust that everyone wants to do a good job. None of that can happen serendipitously by everyone working in the same building.
The workplace still matters. A great office makes collaboration easier. It gives people places to focus, meet and connect. I care deeply about that because it's what my company fosters every day.
But I don't think a workplace can create culture on its own. It can reinforce a healthy culture. It can expose an unhealthy one. It can't replace leadership.
Three Things Leaders Can Do To Strengthen Culture Without A Headquarters
1. Look at the behaviors you’re rewarding. Who have you promoted, recognized and celebrated over the last year? The actions of those people tell employees far more about your culture than any EOS core value ever will.
2. Instill a sense of belonging through contribution. People rarely feel connected just because they attended another meeting or happy hour. They feel connected when they've helped build something. Contribution creates ownership, and ownership creates belonging.
3. Understand that work is not one size fits all. What are people trying to accomplish and what type of environment helps them do the task at hand? You wouldn’t sit in a library if you needed to brainstorm with your colleagues. White boarding a dev sprint looks a lot different than diving into a financial model. Give people the flexibility to match the environment to the work they're doing.
The next time you're worried about your company's culture, do not call a leasing broker. Start with leadership. Because at the end of the day, employees don't remember a building. They remember how it felt to work for the people inside it.
This article was originally published on Forbes Business Council. Read all of Sarah's publications on Forbes here.