Plato has some thoughts on Return to Office.

In Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, a group of people are chained up in a cave, able to see only the blank wall in front of them. Behind them is a fire, which casts shadows on the wall as people walk before it.

Lacking information and context, the prisoners mistake the shadows for something real and tangible, rather than a flattened, untextured rendition of the natural world. Think of it as the original Zoom call dreamed up by someone 2,000 years ago.

So what does that have to do with return to office? Well, it might be said that to those unaccustomed to the world of sustained, in-person professional interaction, working virtually feels as complete and real as the shadows felt to the cave dwellers.

And why shouldn’t it? After all, work is merely the latest analog realm to take shape digitally. Socializing, dating and retailing all blazed the trail. Why not work?

Which helps explain why it’s become increasingly difficult for companies to dislodge the belief that virtual work is every bit as good as the real thing. And to convince associates that greater fulfillment and growth may actually lie beyond the spare bedroom.

It’s your culture, not theirs

To date, the most common argument for in-person work is that “a healthy and vital corporate culture depends on it”. But that’s getting limited traction. Because people intuitively understand that corporate culture – however collegial or beneficent – exists primarily to serve the corporation.

Yes, the best versions of it make for pleasant, rewarding workplaces wherein people can express themselves and flourish professionally. But there’s a belief that such flourishing ultimately accrues to the benefit of the company.

Less clear – especially to “virtual natives” – is how in-person work furthers their own long-term professional growth and advancement.

Absent that understanding, we’re asking people to exchange a set of “bird-in-hand” perks – reclaimed commuting time, the freedom to work in sweatpants and the chance to take the dog for mid-afternoon walks – for a set of professional obligations they’re told have trickle down benefits.

But those benefits haven’t been well articulated. And in a world where career carpetbagging is the norm, the “What’s in it for me” piece must always be crystal clear.

There will be skeptics

The fact is, to some folks all arguments for returning to the office will ring hollow. Many will see them as motivated by executive unease with underutilized commercial real estate. And it’s not hard to imagine how gazing upon row after costly row of unoccupied office space sparks a desire to fill it up.

Others skeptics will simply point to their own successful performance throughout the pandemic and question the need to return to “the old ways”. And those who came of age schlepping into the office but now balk at doing so, have a point. They built their networks and are now effectively leaning on those relationships to do their jobs well. Why should they suffer?

And let’s be honest, unless you’re manning a blast furnace or searing rib eyes, the actual “job” part of most jobs can now be executed remotely.

What’s in it for them?

So as a starting point, it’s important to acknowledge that the pandemic has re-written the rules. In ink. There’s no going back. And those seeking remote work have a lot more leverage. Some will use it.

For those firms committed to in-person requirements, the number one point of emphasis needs to be this: Yes, in-person work serves the firm’s needs but it also supports associates’ long-term professional objectives and skill building.

Which objectives? There are a few but among the key vocational building blocks are these: The chance to fortify and extend their personal and professional networks, the ability to better assess and navigate organizational nuance and complexity, and perhaps most importantly, the opportunity for mentorship.

Firsthand accounts of in-person growth and learning

But you can’t ask people to take it on faith. In making the case for why it’s good for them, the most compelling support can be found in stories. Specifically, detail-rich chronicles of colleagues and leaders who have thrived thanks to experiences and chance encounters that virtual work simply can’t supply.

Whether in videos, written communications or interviews at all-hands or town hall style meetings, think about featuring respected leaders or top performers recounting how they learned something important by peering over the cubicle next to them. How they bonded with a co-worker over Chinese food eaten in a conference room while pushing up against a late-night deadline. How a quickly exchanged glance was the impetus a junior person needed to offer a different perspective or withhold a problematic point of view.

Personal stories, laden with details and recounted with enthusiasm and pathos, will do some of the things stories do best: Disarm skeptics and enable people to see obligations as opportunities.

Now the day may come when digital serendipity is a thing. When people will spontaneously kibbitz over some virtual water cooler or Slack will allow for “Oh, by the ways…” on an elevator ride. But for now, those things don’t happen and can’t be simulated.

So it’s critical to make clear that while people working virtually are not exactly shackled, what they view as total freedom may actually be self-limiting. Like the prisoners in Plato’s cave, they may be mistaking the shadow life for the real thing.