Return-To-Office Decisions:

A Culture Question
J. Yo-Jud Cheng, Boris Groysberg,
Darden School of Business, Harvard Business School,
University of Virginia Harvard University

J. Yo-Jud Cheng and Boris Groysberg

­explore how o­ rganizational cultures
evolved through the COVID-19 pandemic
and how company culture shapes leaders’
decisions about whether and how to bring
workers back to the office.

8 Volume 04 | Issue 1 | Winter 2024 | MBR

 ©shutterstock.com/Artens

MBR | Winter 2024 | Volume 04 | Issue 1 9

O
ne of the most critical decisions ment built on relationships and mutu- our opportunities for innovation.” She
facing business executives in the al trust.3 concluded with, “Let the experiment
wake of the COVID-19 pandemic To explore how this situation begin.”5 This type of language, which
was whether and how to require has evolved since the onset of the highlights innovation and adaptation,
employees to return to the office. pandemic, we compiled public an- appeared frequently in mode-of-work
Many leaders’ mode-of-work deci- nouncements, blog posts, and mem- announcements.
sions weren’t justified by big-picture os in which the leaders of Fortune These announcements often
strategic issues or financial perfor- 100 and other prominent companies described new initiatives and work
mance; they focused on culture. A announced recent decisions about practices designed to promote in-
quick review of leaders’ recent an- mode-of-work policies.4 These an- novative activity. Gloria Chen, Chief
nouncements about mode of work – nouncements are typically made by People Officer at Adobe, highlight-
whether office-first, remote-first, or the company’s CEO, chief people of- ed the company’s shift from email
hybrid – revealed their concern with ficer, or another high-level executive. to real-time messaging as a means
organizational culture. Goldman While the announcements we used do of encouraging informal interac-
Sachs Chief Executive Officer (CEO) not constitute a comprehensive set of tions and new methods of collabo-
David Solomon, said that bringing mode-of-work decisions from large ration.6 Bristol Myers Squibb’s CEO
people into the office to collaborate in companies, indeed many companies Giovanni Caforio discussed the new
person is part of the company’s secret have either not set or not published cross-industry groups, public-private
sauce and is necessary to maintaining an explicit policy, they do offer insight partnerships, and consortiums his
the company’s cultural foundation.1 into the cultural attributes leaders company had launched to foster col-
Struck by this remark, we ana- emphasize as they justify their poli- laboration and “inform, improve, in-
lyzed the mode-of-work announce- cies about mode of work. novate, and accelerate” its response
ments made by the leaders of major to the pandemic.7
firms with an eye to understanding The empirical patterns we identi-
what they were doing and why. We The pandemic reoriented fied suggest that the pandemic reori-
applied a framework (developed with many organizational ented many organizational cultures
Jeremiah Lee and Jesse Price from toward learning, which is perhaps
Spencer Stuart) to identify key attri- cultures toward learning, unsurprising given its unprecedent-
butes of organizational culture that which is perhaps ed disruption of business models
leaders emphasized in these commu- unsurprising given its and organizational practices. Com-
nications.2 We found that, during the panies were forced to learn, adapt,
pandemic, many leaders articulated unprecedented disruption and change in order to survive.
a new emphasis on learning cultures. of business models and Many CEOs have attested to this
We also examined how organization- organizational practices. shift as well. Carol Tomé, who took
al culture was used to support lead- over as CEO of United Parcel Service
ers’ decisions about mode of work. Companies were forced to (UPS) in June 2020, characterized the
We found that leaders systematically learn, adapt, and change pandemic as “a great crystallizer”
emphasized different cultural attri- in order to survive. that helped the company’s leaders to
butes depending on which mode of hone their strategy and to see what
work they made dominant, be it an they should carry forward and what
in-office, remote, or hybrid model. When we applied our cultural they should change. They became
framework to these announcements, acutely aware of their fundamental
A Shift toward Learning Cultures we found that one cultural attribute need to move faster. In service of that
Our culture framework maps distinct appeared consistently: learning. goal, they made significant changes to
cultural attributes along two axes Learning cultures value exploration, the firm’s decision-making structure.
that guide how workers interact (inde- creativity, and innovation. At Cisco, Under the old system, managers had
pendence vs. interdependence) and Chief People, Policy and Purpose Of- to present new ideas to one of twen-
respond to change (stability vs. flex- ficer Francine Katsoudas expressed ty-one committees. After that, a man-
ibility). Our research indicated that, the company’s hybrid work policy by agement committee, often including
prior to the pandemic, the cultures writing, “In the hybrid world we’ll best the CEO, had to sign off. During the
of many organizations emphasized utilize our offices by transforming pandemic, the company’s leaders
both results and caring, focusing on them into spaces optimized for teams streamlined this process, giving six
achievement, performance, and goals to innovate, collaborate, and connect committees the power to approve
in a warm and collaborative environ- … the challenges of hybrid work are certain projects without involving

10 Volume 04 | Issue 1 | Winter 2024 | MBR

senior executives. This change was Figure 1. Comparison of Cultural Attributes Mentioned in Mode-of-Work Announcements
part of a deliberate shift away from
a top-down management style and
toward a more innovative and inte-
grated culture that allows for rapid
adaptation and change.8
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has
directly stated that there’s “no going
back … to the way things were before
COVID.” Since the onset of the pan-
demic, Intel’s leaders have endeav-
ored to make the company “a force
that is shaping technology for good.”
By increasing the diversity of the com-
pany’s leaders and fostering an envi-
ronment that encourages employees
to “bring [their] whole selves to the Different Cultural Attributes for In interviews, many CEOs
workplace,” they have worked to fuel Different Modes of Work who believe in the importance of
innovation and creativity. They have In the announcements we exam- in-office or on-site work have
also launched external programs with ined, the emphasis on learning echoed this emphasis. Goldman
communities and educational institu- and results was remarkably con- Sachs CEO David Solomon went
tions to promote learning and a “love sistent, regardless of the chosen as far as to call remote work
and passion for technology” that Gel- mode of work. Given than no com- an “aberration.” A determined
singer hopes will permeate Intel’s cul- pany could avoid the effects of advocate of a full return to the
ture and activities.9 the pandemic, some similarities office, Solomon went on to explain
were anticipated. However, we also that millennial employees at Gold-
A Continued Focus on Results found areas of divergence. Many man Sachs “want to understand
Alongside these changes, corpo- companys’ decisions were driven that they’re working for a compa-
rate leaders remained consistent in not by the shared external chal- ny that has a sense of purpose …
emphasizing certain aspects of their lenge, but by their own internal [and] for someone who’s a human
pre-pandemic cultures, particularly culture (see figure 1). being, who they can relate to.” In
toward results and achieving goals. his view, these employees would
Their announcements reflected that Office-first only find that sense of purpose by
emphasis. Commending employees A handful of large companies made working together, in person, with
for their achievements was often a headlines by instituting an office- a team- oriented apprenticeship
key theme. Walmart’s Chief People first mode of work during the model.12
Officer Donna Morris, for example, pandemic. Our analysis of their Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla
acknowledged in her mode-of-work announcements found that lead- explained how his team successfully
update that, throughout the pandem- ers placed a heavy emphasis on motivated their physical manufac-
ic, “associates in distribution centers the cultural attribute of purpose, turing and laboratory employees to
and fulfillment centers have pushed which promotes idealism, altruism, work throughout the pandemic by
boundaries, moved more product and compassion. These leaders inspiring them with the company’s
than ever before and have done it used language that justified asking mission, rather than just offering
while proudly knowing they were employees to work together in one financial incentives. They fostered
making a difference.”10 location as contributing to a greater a culture in which people took great
cause. When Tesla CEO Elon Musk pride in the purpose of their work:
emailed employees saying that it knowing they were helping to ensure
Leaders used language that was essential that they work where that cancer patients always had
justified asking employees “actual colleagues are located,” he access to medications or producing
to work together in one supported his d ­ecision with the
assertion that collocated work was
a product that could save someone’s
life.13 We found that leaders who
location as contributing necessary to creating “the most implemented office-first policies
to a greater cause. exciting and meaningful products consistently emphasized purpose,
of any company on Earth.”11 values, and mission.

MBR | Winter 2024 | Volume 04 | Issue 1 11

Remote-first and internal surveys to justify their Mutual’s announcement of a hybrid
When we examined remote-first decision and concluded their mes- work plan likewise explicitly men-
announcements, we found a strong sage by emphasizing that a remote- tioned its leaders’ intent to balance
emphasis on the cultural attribute first mode of work would “provide a multiple cultural factors, including
of safety, which promotes planning, level of predictability” and “eliminate a “diverse workforce with equitable
caution, and preparedness. These some uncertainty” so that employees opportunities,” an “agile and adapt-
leaders stressed the importance of “can plan confidently.”16 able” environment, “objective crite-
managing risk, being realistic, and ria,” consistency, and “purposeful”
planning ahead. Before Elon Musk Hybrid use of office space.19
acquired it in 2022, Twitter was one The vast majority of the mode-of-
of the first major companies to give work announcements we analyzed A Closer Look at Hybrid Policies
its employees the option of working outlined a hybrid approach, com- A hybrid mode of work was by far
from anywhere they chose. Com- bining in-office and remote work. the most common approach among
munications from the company’s Not surprisingly, these hybrid work companies; however, actual poli-
leaders consistently mentioned the announcements reflected a blend of cies varied substantially. To bet-
health and safety of employees and the cultural attributes emphasized ter understand how culture might
their communities. They established in single -mode announcements. influence these differences, we
early that bringing employees back Leaders emphasized safety least in took a closer look at three compa-
to offices would be a “careful, inten- office-first announcements and most nies that operate in the financial
tional, office by office, and gradual” in remote -first announcements, services industry. During the pan-
process, acknowledging the many with hybrid announcements falling demic, they faced similar external
“unknowns” of how the pandemic somewhere in the middle. Purpose pressures. They competed for many
would unfold.14 followed a reverse pattern, with of the same customers, had compa-
At Slack, Senior Vice President more emphasis in office-first plans rable strategies and business mod-
of People Robby Kwok announced and less in remote-first ones, with els, and, now, have each settled into
that the company would become a hybrid announcements again being hybrid work. Yet their leaders imple-
“much more distributed company” somewhere in the middle. Many mented hybrid work policies in very
where “most employees will have hybrid announcements evoked a different ways. We wanted to deter-
the option to work remotely on a blend of learning, results, purpose, mine whether these companies’ pre-
permanent basis if they choose.” He and safety culture styles. Merck’s pandemic cultures foreshadowed
adopted a cautious, protective tone announcement was predicated on their leaders’ later decisions about
when describing the “many things the idea that a mix of in-office and mode of work.
that we can’t know,” and assuring remote work would allow employees Like companies we’ve ana-
workers that the company’s leaders to “be even more agile and produc- lyzed in prior research, these three
were “working tirelessly to under- tive as we deliver outcomes for the firms’ cultures strongly empha-
stand [the] options,” developing the people who depend on our work.” sized results and caring before the
systems and architecture necessary At the same time, Merck’s leaders pandemic. In their post-pandemic
to ensure continuity in various con- recognized the fact that “the fight announcements of their mode-of-work
tingencies.15 is ongoing, and the state of the pan- decisions, their leaders highlighted
Dropbox’s leadership team demic continues to vary locally.”17 learning and adaptation. Like oth-
shared a statement on their decision Intel’s Chief People Officer er corporate leaders announcing
to become a “Virtual First” company, Christy Pambianchi drew upon a hybrid work policies, they invoked
where remote work is the “day-to-day mix of cultural attributes to con- varying degrees of purpose- and
default.” Consistent with many other vey a hybrid policy that created a safety-driven language. Nonethe-
companies, they underscored the “dynamic, flexible, and inclusive less, their pre-pandemic organiza-
cultural attributes of learning and workplace … [that will support] a tional cultures differed in important
results by highlighting the impor- results-driven organization.” She ways. We analyzed if and how the
tance of a “learning mindset” and explained the need for continuous differences influenced each compa-
the desire to “prioritize impact and adjustment and adaptation to enable ny’s subsequent hybrid work policy.
results instead of hours worked.” “remote and on-site work … [that]
At the same time, their statement drives the best output, while ensur- In-office Tuesday through Thursday
incorporated the value of safety, ing everyone has equitable access to Under the first company’s hybrid
careful decision-making, and conti- the systems, resources, and oppor- policy, all employees were strongly
nuity. They cited external research tunities needed to thrive.”18 Liberty encouraged to work from the office

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Tuesday through Thursday and Through this comparison of Learning cultures can be used
were permitted to work remote- work policies within a single indus- for any mode of work. We believe
ly on Monday and Friday. Of the try, we found that mode-of-work leaders can build and maintain a
three, this company’s leaders policies are driven not only by learning-oriented culture regard-
required the largest amount of industry differences, but also by less of the work mode they choose.
in-office time from their employ- company-specific cultural attributes. To achieve this end, leaders must
ees. And, in keeping with our design their organization in keep-
broader findings, its culture espe- ing with their employees’ mode
cially emphasized purpose, with Mode-of-work policies of work. Leaders in an office-first
me ssa ge s evok ing t he sha re d are driven not only by environment, for example, might
design office and desk spaces that
struggles of employees and their industry differences, but encourage mixing between vari-
communities, as well as the value
of rallying together to meet cus-
also by company-specific ous functions and teams. Leaders
tomers’ needs. cultural attributes. in a remote-first company might
instead develop communication
In-office two days a week systems that allow all employ-
The second company’s leaders Key Considerations for Leaders ees to share information at any
Our exploratory analysis led us time. And in a hybrid environ-
required that employees work
to three conclusions that leaders ment, they might use technology
from the office at least two days
should take into account: to ensure that employees both in
per week. In addition, they man-
and outside the office can engage
dated that employees receive
Even in crises, leaders must equally in explorative, open dis-
the COVID vaccine, even going
attend to corporate culture. Cul- cussions. Most importantly, lead-
so far as to fire workers that did ture is more important than ever. ers should be willing to critically
not comply with the policy. This It is not an extra that leaders assess their operations to ensure
company’s culture emphasized should consider only when time that their organizational design
authority, valuing d­ ecisiveness, and events allow. Even in crisis serves the culture they intend.
strength, and strong control. situations, when time is exceed-
ingly limited, companies’ cultures Culture remains an important
Self-selection of in-office/ should influence leaders’ deci- source of competitive advantage
remote mix sions. Leaders should therefore and differentiation. Even within
The third company’s leaders applied always have a grasp of the pri- an industry in which many compa-
an unusually flexible hybrid work mary attributes of their organiza- nies operate with similar business
plan. Employees were encouraged to tion’s current culture and be alert models and the same external
consult their workgroups and then to misalignment when making conditions, culture can differenti-
choose their own mode of work. This decisions and enacting organiza- ate them. Leaders who design
company’s culture strongly empha- tional change. At the same time, and use organizational culture
sized enjoyment, aiming for a fun leaders must be ready to adjust thoughtfully will attract employees
and spontaneous workplace where the culture to adapt to new who further their mission and fuel
people do what makes them happy. circumstances. their organizations.

Author Bios
J. Yo-Jud Cheng is an assistant professor Boris Groysberg is a professor of business
of business administration in the Strategy, administration in the Organizational
Ethics, and Entrepreneurship area at the Behavior unit at Harvard Business School.
University of Virginia Darden School of His research focuses on the challenge of
Business. Her research examines corpo- managing human capital in small and
rate governance, top management teams, large organizations across the world.
and organizational culture.

MBR | Winter 2024 | Volume 04 | Issue 1 13

Endnotes
1. Geoff Colvin, “Goldman Sachs Is Ordering Hubble, July 14, 2022, https://hubblehq. 10. Donna Morris, “Future Ways of Working Twitter, May 12, 2020, https://blog.twitter.
Employees Back to the Office 5 Days (or com/blog/famous-companies-workplace- Update for Walmart Campus Office com/en_us/topics/company/2020/
More) a Week. Inside CEO David Solomon’s strategies. Associates,” Walmart, October 22, keeping-our-employees-and-partners-
Mission to End Hybrid Work,” Fortune, March 5. Francine Katsoudas, “The Great Hybrid 2021, https://corporate.walmart.com/ safe-during-coronavirus.
10, 2022, https://fortune.com/2022/03/10/ Experiment,” Cisco, July 28, 2021, https:// newsroom/2021/10/22/future-ways-of- 15. “Update on Slack Office Closures from
goldman-sachs-office-hybrid-remote-work- newsroom.cisco.com/c/r/newsroom/en/ working-update-for-walmart-campus- Slack SVP of People Robby Kwok,” Slack,
david-solomon/. us/a/y2021/m07/no-remote-no-in-office- office-associates. June 11, 2020, https://slack.com/intl/
2. Boris Groysberg et al., “The Leader’s Guide only-hybrid-.html. 11. Fred Lambert, “Elon Musk Asks All Tesla en-au/blog/news/june-update- on-
to Corporate Culture,” Harvard Business 6. Gloria Chen, “The Future of Work at Adobe,” Employees to Come Back to the Office slack-office-closures-from-slack-svp-of-
Review, January-February 2018, https:// Adobe, June 24, 2021, https://blog.adobe. or Quit,” Electrek, June 1, 2022, https:// people-robby-kwok.
hbr.org/2018/01/the-leaders-guide-to- com/en/publish/2021/06/24/future-of-work- electrek.co/2022/06/01/elon-musk-tesla- 16. “Dropbox Goes Virtual First,” Dropbox,
corporate-culture. adobe. employees-come-back-office-or-quit/. October 13, 2020, https://blog.dropbox.com/
3. Boris Groysberg et al., “The Leader’s Guide 7. Giovanni Caforio, “Our Response to COVID-19,” 12. Stephen Jones, “Goldman Sachs’ CEO, topics/company/dropbox-goes-virtual-first.
to Corporate Culture,” Harvard Business Bristol Myers Squibb, September 7, 2021, Who Earned $35 Million Last Year, Said 17. “Introducing Our Global Hybrid Work Model,”
Review, January-February 2018, https:// https://online-annual-report-2020.bms.com/ People Want to Work for Leaders Who Merck, June 22, 2021, https://web.archive.
hbr.org/2018/01/the-leaders-guide-to- feature-stories/our-response-to-covid-19/. Are Relatable,” Business Insider, March 14, org/web/20230604075536/https://www.
corporate-culture. 8. Carol B. Tomé, “The CEO of UPS on Taking 2022, https://www.businessinsider.com/ merck.com/stories/introducing-our-global-
4. We began by referring to lists compiled the Reins amid Surging Pandemic Demand,” goldman-sachs-ceo-david-solomon- hybrid-work-model/.
by Build Remote and Hubble. We Harvard Business Review, September- people-work-for-leaders-relatable-2022-3. 18. Christy Pambianchi, “Creating a ‘Hybrid-
supplemented this data with additional October 2021, https://hbr.org/2021/09/ 13. K athy Gurchiek, “Pfizer and SHRM CEOs First’ Company,” Intel, November 3, 2021,
news and web searches. See: Henry the-ceo-of-ups-on-taking-the-reins-amid- Discuss COVID-19, Value of Culture,” SHRM, https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/
O’Loughlin, “Return to Office Plans for surging-pandemic-demand. March 17, 2021, https://www.shrm.org/ en/newsroom/opinion/creating-hybrid-
Every Fortune 100 (July Update),” Build 9. Carolina Milanesi, “Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger hr-today/news/hr-news/pages/pfizer- first-company.html.
Remote, last updated December 2023, on the Culture behind His Turnaround Plan,” and-shrm-ceos-discuss-covid-19-value- 19. “COVID-19: Our Path Forward,” Liberty
https://buildremote.co/companies/ Fast Company, March 24, 2022, https://www. of-culture.aspx. Mutual, https://www.libertymutualgroup.
return-to-office/; “The Official List of fastcompany.com/90733160/pat-gelsinger- 14. Jennifer Christie, “Keeping Our Employees com/about-lm/corporate-information/
Every Company’s Back-to-Office Strategy,” intel-interview. and Partners Safe during #coronavirus,” covid-19-our-path-forward.

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