A “complex adaptive system” is called back to the office

Building on my previous post—“Return to office” or how one spring does not get in the box by itself…—I want to reflect on the current struggles organizations face as they attempt to bring employees back to the office in this latest phase of the post-pandemic era.

I am not aiming to take sides. It’s clear that every approach—whether pushing for a rapid return, opting for flexibility, or supporting permanent remote work—has compelling arguments behind it. The heart of the issue lies in one fundamental truth: organizations are not simple. They are not mere collections of individuals, but complex adaptive systems (CAS).

As psychologist Kurt Koffka stated, “The whole is something else than the sum of its parts.” In organizational life, the magic—and the difficulty—often lies in navigating the “something else.” Many management systems still operate with a mechanistic lens, sometimes at odds with the emergent, relational nature of organizations as systems. While modern management theory encourages us to shift focus from “managing people” to managing processes and relationships (Cynefin: Complex Facilitation), truly embracing this shift remains a challenge.

The Characteristics of Complex Adaptive Systems—And What They Mean for the Return to Office

It’s helpful to view the current return-to-office narrative through the lens of CAS characteristics:

1. Emergence:
Organizations routinely experience unexpected outcomes. Emergent phenomena arise as interactions between parts create outcomes not predictable from the individual parts alone (Complexity Explorer: Emergence). When return-to-office rules are planned with rigid, broad-based mandates, they often fail because they ignore the local contexts and relationships that shape real work. “One size fits all” restrictions can backfire. Instead, enabling constraints—like “work from office at least 30% of the time”—offer guidance but allow for local autonomy (Enabling Constraints).

2. Non-linearity:
Organizations rarely respond in linear, predictable ways. Forcing a rapid return to the office can push the system far from equilibrium, amplifying tensions and uncertainty. As Cynefin explains, systems far from equilibrium often reach new stable states, sometimes unpredictably. The key is to help the system transition to new, appropriate “attractors”—patterns of behavior that align with organizational goals—without expecting an exact return to the pre-pandemic status quo. Small interventions can have outsized or surprising impacts.

3. Self-organization:
Teams and employees will naturally adapt and find new ways to collaborate—sometimes in direct response to imposed constraints. Attempts at top-down mandates are often reinterpreted, renegotiated, or sidestepped by those closest to the work. Recognizing and harnessing this self-organization can lead to more resilient ways of working, rather than fighting it with rigid control.

Self organization works both ways, as in finding a solution to a problem or even finding new problems for a mandated solution :), and I would not underestimate the determination of people who want keep the hybrid work.

4. Path Dependency:
Decisions made during the pandemic—shifts to remote work, investment in online infrastructure, the change in work/life habits—shape current trajectories. The system’s history affects its next steps; you can’t simply “reset” to a pre-pandemic model.

In other words, what created the pre-pandemic workplace landscape will not re-create it during post-pandemic times. Different paths will lead to different outcomes.

5. Resilience:
Perhaps most important is the need for organizational resilience. The ability to absorb shocks, adapt, and find new stability is vital—not just for surviving post-pandemic change, but for thriving through any disruption.

Whether we like it or not, the pandemic happened, and this created some shocks and changes. These are now in the collective memory and influence how people behave. Long covid seems to be a thing and people are more aware of their health, they wear masks more often, they self-isolate more often. These are subtle actions, small changes in the world’s routines, yet on a large scale they have some significant impact. One can not ignore this newly developed resilience of the system, and this resilience will fight back on measures that look like “get back all the chicken in the building”.

6. Critical Points and Dark Constraints:
Every complex system can reach a tipping point where change becomes inevitable and irreversible. “Dark constraints”—unarticulated rules, cultures, or informal norms—may emerge, shaping behavior in ways that formal management may not see until much later.

They exist now! They are there and even if ignored, they will influence. We feel them, you and me know what these newly created dark constrains are

Guiding the Next Transition

The organization is now a “sprung” system—the metaphorical spring released in 2020—settled into a new shape after years of at-home and hybrid work. Returning to the office is not as simple as compressing the spring back into its old box; you can’t just reverse the physics.

So what can organizations do?

• Use safe-to-fail probes: Pilot different models in small, reversible ways and watch the results. Learn what works before wider rollout.
• Allow time for observation: Organizational transitions require patience; gauges for success should be flexible and long-term.
• Establish enabling constraints and guardrails: Avoid blanket edicts. Instead, offer structured flexibility that respects both organizational needs and individual contexts.
• Invest in scaffolding: Support people in building routines and collaboration patterns that fit the new normal, not just enforcing old ones.
• Recognize the need for energy: Change requires resources—in time, attention, and sometimes emotional labor. Top-down pressure alone won’t suffice.

The post-pandemic “return to the office” isn’t about pressing rewind. It’s a new transition, demanding honest reflection, adaptive experimentation, and respect for the true complexity of human systems.

It will take time, energy, and humility. But by thinking and acting systemically—embracing emergence, non-linearity, self-organization, and resilience—organizations stand a better chance of finding a new, sustainable equilibrium that works for all. There will be tension, and things will not be the same ..