Hartford Business Journal

16 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | March 28, 2022 portion of staff will work on a hybrid basis. Health insurer Aetna began welcoming employees back to corporate offices in mid-March under a hybrid model, according to Erin Shields Britt, spokesperson for Aetna parent company CVS Health. Denise Raphael, human resource director at Hartford-based JCJ Architecture, said her roughly 125-person firm has worked with a "3-2-2" policy since last summer. That means three days in one of the company's seven offices, two working from home and two days off for the weekends. Staff are allowed to determine which three in-office days best suit their project teams, Raphael said. The majority choose to be in office for the first three days of the week, she said. The hybrid model is no longer focused on COVID-19 prevention, Raphael added. Today, it is a potent tool to recruit new workers. The presence of a flexible work environment has become one of the standard questions from job candidates — right up there with vacation, retirement and health benefits, Raphael said. Andrew Lattimer, managing principal of auditing and business consulting firm CLA's West Hartford office, said at the outset of the pandemic his company allowed its 7,500 employees into offices on alternating two-day schedules. That helped space out staff for social distancing. Beginning in January 2021, those in-office attendance restrictions were lifted, he said. However, CLA staff retained the ability to work from home. Lattimer said his company always allowed staff to work remotely. "We do think that we are better together in that you can learn so much more from being in the office," Lattimer said. "But we also understand there are fears out there we have never confronted before." CLA maintains about 300 staff in Connecticut, with offices in West Hartford, Shelton and Marlborough. "If we normally had 100 people come in [to the office] on a daily basis because the rest were out at clients, it wouldn't surprise me now if it's at 60 people," Lattimer said. "I don't think our policy has changed. It's just more people are taking advantage of it." Work gets done Regional accounting firm Whittlesey gave staff the option to come back to the office last summer. CEO Drew Andrews expected a flood of returns. That never materialized but the company has still seen productivity increase in each of the past two years, he said. "There's probably about eight of us here today, including me," Andrews said, speaking March 15 from his corner office on the 24th floor of the downtown Hartford skyscraper at 280 Trumbull St. "So, people aren't coming in and work's getting done. We aren't going to mandate people come in any certain day. We will continue in this mode for the foreseeable future — come in when you need to come in and work where it works for you." Whittlesey currently occupies about 25,000 square feet of Hartford office space that accommodates 100 employees. The company employs 165 people overall with two other offices in Hamden and Holyoke. Andrews said he hasn't decided if the company will consolidate its office space. There will be reconfiguration at the very least, setting up for more group activities rather than individual offices or cubicles. Andrews said he thinks more of his staff will come back to the office, once activity picks up in downtown Hartford. "Our people like being here when they can walk around and see other people and talk with friends who work in other offices," Andrews said Whittlesey doesn't just crunch numbers for other companies. It helps advise on policies and business practices. Andrews said return-to-office advice really needs to be tailored around the work culture of individual firms. Most are concerned about remaining competitive when it comes to attracting new employees. "What they are still struggling with is, are they going to be competitive in an environment where they mandate their employees to come back when their competitors don't require their staff to come back," Andrews said. Melissa Braun, a tax manager with Whittlesey, said she has only seen a trickle of staff return to the firm's Hartford office. HBJ PHOTO | MICHAEL PUFFER Lending businesses money is one thing. Lending customized support is our thing. chelseagroton.com/growthatbusiness or call 860-448-4295 NMLS #402928 LIVE from The Bushnell ctforum.org LIFETIME PATRONS: Connecticut Public | The Hartford Financial Services Group Lincoln Financial Foundation | Raytheon Technologies | The Rosalyn Group Stanley Black & Decker | Travelers YEARS 30 Futurist, Business Strategist, NYU Professor Amy Webb Director of MIT Media Lab's Community Biotechnology Initiative, Musician, Community Organizer David Kong Expert in Technology and Augmented Reality, Researcher, Designer Helen Papagiannis Moderator John Dankosky Director of News and Audio for Science Friday 20 years from now, say "I told you so." SAT, APRIL 9, 2022 — 7:30PM Life in 2042 How We'll Work and Live in the Future

• Cover