Back to work? This sounds like the obvious end goal we’ve all been waiting for after roughly two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. But wait a minute. Does this make sense? Remote work went from being an awkward crisis workaround to a routine with its own rhythm and plenty of upsides. It turned out that increased flexibility and reduced commuting time weren’t a bad trade-off for the new pain of Zoom fatigue. And now your company wants you back in your office, picking up where you left off in March 2020? Whoa.
So, how do you convince your boss to think twice? The first rule of persuasion is never try to convince anyone by telling them they’re wrong. The better approach is to write your boss a memo that starts by acknowledging their concerns: Yes, going virtual took a toll on corporate culture and may have diminished innovation. Then, suggest a different way to deal with this, one that addresses those problems while retaining and highlighting the best aspects of remote work.
Next, make clear that you’re not basing your pitch on opinion but on data. For example, our project, Go Forward to Work,collected two years of the best practices from more than 2,000 executives around the world. We got a front-row seat to observe how some businesses succeeded in the teeth of the crisis. Sharing data like this with your boss proves that remote work can be reimagined for better outcomes and can be so much more than a temporary substitute for “real work” at the office.