INSIGHTS Our flexible approach to returning to the office

Once upon a time, in a land far away, people used to go to the office. All day. Five days a week. In fact for many of us work meant ‘the office’. And then a pandemic struck. And everything changed. You all know this story, but do you know what happened next?

It seems that right now all people are talking about is ‘the return to the office’, and ‘going back to business as usual’. 

So we wanted to be transparent and lay our cards on the table about how The Escape is planning on moving forward. And for us that doesn’t mean business as usual. Things have changed and so have we. 

If the last year and more has shown us anything, it’s how amazingly adaptive, loyal and hard-working our people are. Whether working from home, or the office, we’ve been blown away by their resilience and optimism and for that we are very proud and grateful.

However, there were so many questions swirling around our heads when working out our new ‘policy’. What’s safe? What’s practical? What’s good for team morale? What’s good for productivity? What’s good for our mental health?

So quite simply we asked the team what they wanted. Which is why we made the decision to go with a phased approach. That might sound a little ambiguous, but what we’re doing is listening to what our people want and giving them a choice. 

So here is our phased ‘non-policy policy’;

The team have expressed how much they miss the social and collaborative aspect of coming into the office (and the pub right next door!). Afterall, we’re a creative bunch, and so much of that creativity comes from human interaction, just hanging out together and sharing ideas. But the overwhelming consensus was also that a more flexible approach to working was needed.

That’s why this summer we’ll be opening the office daily for anyone who wants to come in, whether that’s for a team catch up, a client meeting, or to spend the day (with all the best safety practices in place obviously). Without obligation. There will be no set days or minimum requirements, but it’s a chance for everyone to dip their toes in the office water and see some friendly faces again (cake, bbqs and beers after work is a given).

Come autumn, based on the results of our internal surveys, we will be offering the team a completely new flexible approach to working and rather than the standard five days a week in the office, we will be reducing this to two days of their choice. Naturally if anyone wants to come in more they’re welcome though (let’s face it after a year of homeschooling and looking at the same four walls many of us will be glad of the change!).

So, there you have it. Our phased approach to returning to the office. And whilst this might not work for everyone, this is what works for us right now. Flexibility. Our new normal.