Why employees should guide the return to the workplace

The past 18 months has given us all plenty of time to consider where, when and how they work best.

That’s not to say it’s been a positive experience across the board. The realities of homeworking have varied dramatically: for some, it’s been a case of working on the laptop in bed; for the fortunate few, having a garden office complete with adjustable desk and an ergonomic swivel chair has hardly been a hardship.

Taking these differing circumstances into account and finding out what actually works best for individual employees will be key to creating a new world of work fit for everyone.

“What we’ve found is that understanding and being guided by employees is going to be critically important to how they return to workspaces and how they look in the future,” says Lewis Barker, ServiceNow’s Director of Workplace Services, EMEA. “If they don't bring them along on the journey they're not going to embrace the change.”

As business becomes more open to flexible working, it’s no longer a stark binary decision between home work and office work. Rather, there should be a spectrum of choice, offering employees a hybrid approach depending on the specific wants, needs and tasks of the day.

“The office can be a useful tool in its own right,” Barker observes. “People have realised that instead of dragging things out over three days they can get things done in one day or they can come into work and get what they need done and then go away.”Barker has also seen an increase in people coming into the workplace purely for collaboration: “They might come in maybe twice a week and work from home for the rest of the week.”

Ultimately, it’s up to employees to judge what’s best for their own productivity — and for businesses to make it possible.

Of course, productivity is not the only metric that should be assessed as businesses consider far-reaching changes. “Wellness and wellbeing have become core business priorities,” says Katie Whitehouse, ServiceNow’s HR Director, UK&I. “It’s linked strongly with employees managing work-life integration and being asked to respond to everything that throws at us.”

That’s why, since the start of the first lockdown, ServiceNow has been supporting its employees with resources such as live sessions on digital detox and good nutrition, online exercise classes and community activities such as stepathons.

Again, the impetus for this has come from employees themselves:

“In response to employee feedback, they also introduced Recharge Fridays over the summer — whereby on a Friday afternoon employees could finish at lunchtime,” says Whitehouse. Additionally, at the start of the pandemic, ServiceNow staff were offered a perk allowance, a single allowance to spend on something that matters to them, such as health and fitness, childcare support or learning. The company also reimbursed employees for the costs of setting up their home office so they could work in comfort from home without suffering financially.

ServiceNow is not alone in this. The realisation that happier workers are more productive has led many companies to seek new ways of supporting their employees. And while the benefits need not be exclusive to homeworking, it’s important to keep these programmes in place as some employees gradually return to the office.

Wherever workers choose to work, trust is key to getting the best results from hybrid working, says Whitehouse.

Managers — if they didn’t already — now need to manage based on outcomes rather than presence in the office

To this end, ServiceNow has introduced a new goal-setting tool that sees managers and employees meet for regular reviews. “The ServiceNow culture encourages regular quarterly growth conversations, so development and goal progress is a constant presence,” she says.

Beyond trust, giving workers a sense of belonging is essential. When people feel they belong, they do their best work, and the results are impressive. Research from McKinsey & Company1 finds that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams are 25 per cent more likely to have above-average profitability than companies in the fourth quartile. A key part of belonging is feeling heard. ‘Employee voice’ – listening to and considering employees’ opinions as part of a business’s decision-making process - is more important than ever.

According to Whitehouse, employee voice has been a key part of ServiceNow’s response to the pandemic. “We delayed their return to the office until January 2022 in response to concerns from staff.”

Employee opinions have also influenced the company’s Future of Work strategy. The strategy will see approximately 80 per cent of ServiceNow employees as hybrid workers, meaning they will work from a ServiceNow office location three days a week or less for critical business activities, celebratory events and creative brainstorming projects. The other 20 per cent will embrace a more distributed approach, without a ServiceNow office location. This strategy not only helps employee wellbeing but also allows the business to hire where talent is rather than talent having to relocate.

Assessing employee sentiment can’t be treated as a one-off exercise. It needs to be a continuing process, otherwise it risks being seen as hollow.

ServiceNow uses an employee voice survey (EVS) to track overall employee engagement and progress against actions taken since the last EVS. “It gives us a pulse on these priority Topics — return to workplace and future of work — which will continue to help shape their direction on these,” says Whitehouse.

Ultimately, empathy is vital, she says. “Ask how someone is and they’ll probably say ‘OK’. Ask them again how they really are and you’ll probably hear a lot more. Listening and then leading and responding with empathy is important.”

Find out more about ServiceNow

Selecting Your Program

Our programs vary in length from a week to a full academic year.  They offer short-term programs that take place during the summer, spring break, or winter break, as well as long-term programs that cover one or two semesters. 

If you are looking for a semester program, consider whether you would prefer to go abroad in the spring or fall.  Due to differences in academic calendars around the world, some programs work best for Purdue students in one semester or the other, so the search allows you to specify.  If you are open to spring and fall programs, selecting the “Semester” option will bring up results for both.

For adventurous students, they also offer programs that cover two semesters!  Many returning students say they wish they had studied abroad longer, and the cultural immersion and cost effectiveness of a year-long program can be hard to beat. 

Students interested in summer opportunities often ask if they can search for Maymester programs.  They don’t categorize these separately from other summer programs, but it’s possible to search for programs beginning in May.  See “Program Start Month” below.

A Wildcat’s guide to work-study

Work-study is about earning money, but it’s also a great chance to learn more about NU and meet people you wouldn’t otherwise.

With Northwestern’s tuition rising an additional 4 percent for undergraduates for the upcoming academic year, finding ways to help manage these increasing costs is another thing to add to many students’ plates. One way nearly 2000 Wildcats do so is by participating in the work-study program.

Work-study can sound a bit confusing and overwhelming, especially for incoming students who have a barrage of new information coming their way. Luckily, the program is not as complicated as it may seem.

Work-study at NU is part of a student’s financial aid package and involves working specific jobs affiliated with the federal work-study program, which aims to provide part-time jobs to students who exhibit financial need.

In this program, the funding for a student’s wage is different from a regular student job, with up to 75 percent being funded by the federal government. Otherwise, it’s very similar.

Students are paid an hourly wage for their job and may accrue paychecks until a certain allotment of money stated on their financial aid package is obtained. At this point, the qualifying student may apply for an earning limit appeal to increase their allotment, or the position must be converted into a regular student temp job in which the student is paid outside of the work-study program. Otherwise, the position must be terminated, according to NU’s work-study website. 

Students who qualify for work-study will be notified of their eligibility in their yearly financial aid award letter. Eligible students are not required to participate, but each student who chooses to must accept the allotment before beginning their affiliated positions. 

Once the work-study package has been accepted, students may go onto the work-study website for more information about applying for work-study jobs, which can include everything from lifeguarding at Henry Crown Sports Pavilion to assisting with teaching preschoolers in the Evanston community. 

On the website, employers list hourly pay for specific jobs as well as the average weekly time commitment expected from students. Though the idea of working a job while also juggling school, friends and clubs can sound daunting, most students only work 6-10 hours a week, with an absolute cap of 20 hours.

While supervisors tend to be flexible and understanding of the often chaotic schedule of an undergraduate, it is best to communicate other commitments upfront during the initial interview process.

After being accepted for a position, students must fill out hiring documents such as a Work-Study Authorization Form, which must be completed for both new and returning employees. After this, students will gain access to Northwestern’s myHR Employee Portal, where they can set up direct deposit and view paychecks. Work-study is not credited directly to a student’s tuition bill, but rather the payment is provided to the student either by check or direct deposit.

After this, qualifying students may begin working. If you end up feeling like the job you’ve chosen isn’t for you, you aren’t locked in. Students may apply to work-study positions at any point in the academic year. 

Another way to make work-study more interesting is to split time between two jobs, which is allowed as long as the 20 hour weekly cap is not exceeded. Though this isn’t the most common route to fulfill your work-study allotment, it is available to students.

Another resource in understanding work-study and choosing the best option for you is your academic advisor, who can help to answer specific questions and help.

Email: [email protected]

Related Stories:

— Work-study jobs on campus go unfilled, mirroring nationwide labor shortage

— Need to Know: Your guide to navigating work-study 

— Despite compensation efforts, work-study communication falters