79% Of CEOs Are Dumb

If you haven’t been asked to come back into the office more often, it seems like it’s coming soon. A KPMG survey found that 79% of CEOs "envision the working environment for corporate employees whose roles were traditionally based in-office to be back in the physical workplace in the next three years". Further, 86% "will reward employees who make an effort to come into the office with favorable assignments, raises or promotions".?

Help me out here, Thomas the Tank Engine!

For employees who also happen to be humans, this sucks.

I accept that some people prefer to be in the office, physically present with colleagues. Most days I prefer that! But when the pandemic shifted people remote, many of us discovered something: we can still get s**t done. And we can do it while having more time to spend with families, friends, pets, and hobbies! If your flavor of knowledge work is largely creating things or communicating, you’re just as productive at home as you are having slogged your way through a bunch of traffic and parking shenanigans.

This also slows progress in workplace gender equity. Liz Elting writes “A lack of flexibility is already pushing mothers out of their jobs, and 72% of women say they’ll have to leave their job if their employer eliminates its flexible hybrid policy.” You’d be stupid to shut the door to women in your workforce. (Especially women like these.)

The best enterprise nerds are enterprise humans, and humans need more flexibility than rigid in-office jobs. PM

This story was previously published in the Boring Enterprise Nerdletter #68. Subscribe now to get new stories in your Inbox!