Three months ago I started traveling again and meeting with architects about designing project facades. Most of the time I’m meeting with senior-level architects, and by that, I mean architects that have been around a while. During the meeting, the conversation about everyone coming back to the office always comes up. And it’s always the same situation; the younger the architect, the more they want to have a hybrid schedule of home and office work time.

I’m hearing the seasoned architect is more than ready to get 100% back to the office. However, they don’t know how to make that happen. Because, during the pandemic, they were all able to augment their business, and operate as normal as possible. And with that, the question always comes up: “How do we get them back to the office?”

I’ve got a son-in-law who works for Zoom on the financial side of the business. About six months ago we talked about this very subject. He said, think about it, the Zoom business model should be a business without any need for office space, and should be able to operate from anywhere in the world. All you’ll need is an internet connection. But we both agreed that’s not sustainable.

And then he asked me the same question the architects are asking, “How do we motivate people to come back to the office 100%?”

I gave him the same answer I’m giving many architects these days: “You can’t motivate people to do something they don’t want to do, so all you can do is define the consequences for the choices they make.”

Wait, what?

For the people who want to work three days from home and two days in the office, maybe you can have a company policy that says if you only want to come into the office two days a week, then we’ll evaluate you based on that same ratio. You’ll only have a performance review every three years, you can only be up for a promotion every three years, and your salary will not change for three years.

When an employee is away from the office for three out of five days a week, how are they going to learn, how are they going to be mentored, and how are they going to be measured on the day-to-day business intangibles? The short answer is they can’t be measured from home or from a Zoom call.

Today, younger people are looking for a less stressed work life, and I get it, doesn’t everyone? They want an easy work schedule, a promotion, and the BMW. Some want it both ways. I know when I check into a hotel, I want a view of the ocean and a view of the mountains. But I can’t have everything. So, I must choose which one, and deal with the consequences.

That’s my opinion, and to me, it seems reasonable, but I’d like to know what you think. Is my every-three-year assessment performance review too harsh?

I know one thing, anytime a dilemma like this comes up, I’ve always had success in exploring the options, assigning the consequences to those options, allowing each person to make a decision based on how they want to proceed, and making sure they accept the consequences assigned to their choice. Am I being unreasonable?

My 2 cents.