Remote, hybrid or just in-office: where and when we get work done has become the biggest workplace debate of our time.
It’s also a really good metric to gauge the relative strength of workers and bosses.
Right now, in many cases, management is in a rather weak position when it comes to office politics.
There is a lot of work out there for knowledge workers who are unhappy with the way they are being treated. And there’s more to the adage that employees don’t leave bad jobs, they leave bad managers.
The past two years have also taught many employees the knowledge that they can be more productive and have a better work-life balance with teleworking more of their week, even as managers Their micromanager struggled with this idea.
This hot job market and telecommuting enthusiasm has made it difficult for companies to return to their offices.
And, now, for anyone who’s joined a company in the past few years, remote or hybrid work of some kind is the only type of work they’ve ever known. Whether middle managers like it or not, hybrid and remote work is the new normal.
But that doesn’t mean things can’t change again. And agile.
There is likely to be a period of testing ahead, if, as many indicators show, the economy begins to fall into a difficult zone soon.
That’s when the relative power of employers and workers can begin to shift again. And it may be closer than many people think.
There is some evidence that employers may have provide less work from home for developers, even in a strong market. Some bosses have even issued ultimatums to employees about back to the office or out. And while workers think they’re great at working from home themselves, they’re not convinced about how hard their colleagues are working.
Of course, there will be nuances to all of this. It may be that the deteriorating economic outlook convinces some organizations to downsize or eliminate their costly offices and move to remote or hybrid working for all.
But it’s probably more likely that bosses will feel that in a tougher economic climate, they have a stronger bargaining position and can force employees back into the office – or otherwise.
That could mean that for some companies, the return-to-office plan they reluctantly shelved is coming back.
However, if managers really want people back in the office, that’s probably the wrong approach.
Persuasion and explanation is a better policy. There’s a lot better in the office, especially around building culture and innovation. And a good percentage of employees (especially those early in their careers who can benefit from mentoring and networking) can benefit from being around their peers.
Instead of waiting until they have an economic advantage, bosses should explain why they think their plan is better – and back that up over time with evidence and data. That way, they can motivate their office schedule, regardless of the economic outlook. Either way, this is an argument that will run and run; Expect twists and turns ahead.
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