Is Setting a Return To Work Date Not Even Worth It Anymore?

For some companies, it’s just pointless to set a return to work date, as remote work is likely here to stay in some form. 

The latest developments around Covid could very well kill the return-to-office date as we know it, business and health experts say.

“These RTO dates are now history,” Nick Bloom, a Stanford Graduate School of Business professor who researches remote work, tells CNBC Make It. “Everything is completely off.”

Given how fast the state of the virus is changing, Bloom says any workplace reopening update “less than a week old is outdated. The whole concept of return-to-office dates doesn’t make much sense.”

Rather than rush to set a new return date, leaders should be using this period of uncertainty to set expectations, says Kate Bullinger, CEO of the management consultancy United Minds, which advises Fortune 500 clients on organizational change. “It’s impossible to predict what the winter will bring,” she says. Instead, she advises leaders commit to continually assessing the situation, health guidelines, and employee sentiment, using all three to communicate any updates on a return timeline.