The Backlash Against Remote Work: What’s Causing It & What Happens Now

The pandemic was instrumental in jump-starting remote work and many companies and whole segments of the economy would have completely shut down without it. As offices remained shuttered, it became the go-to model for deploying any employees that could effectively work from home.

Many predicted that the dominance of remote work would continue indefinitely.

After seeing that remote work often made for happier employees and higher productivity, many prominent companies continued to extend work-from-home policies or even promise to make them permanent.

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Fierce Backlash

And yet, many of those same companies are now encouraging or even demanding remote employees return to the office all or part of the time.

Several high-profile CEOs have loudly voiced their displeasure with remote work. Some of those have taken it a step further, attempting to force employees back into offices with threats, up to and including termination.

Elon Musk of Twitter, Tesla, and SpaceX has called remote work “morally wrong” and “bullshit” and claims that it's impossible for employees to be productive working from home.

JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon has also been outspoken in his criticism of remote work and demanded that all employees spend most of their work week in the office, some must be in the office 5 days a week. On multiple occasions, he’s said remote work has “serious weaknesses” that undermine corporate culture.

Apple CEO Tim Cook claims that real collaboration can only happen in the office and that chance encounters among on-site employees drive innovation. Until fairly recently, Cook was a supporter of remote work.

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Public Criticisms of Remote Work

Let’s face it, remote work has become controversial, and some of the criticisms can be valid in certain cases. Here are just some of the “official” reasons that remote work is supposed inferior to an entirely in-office model:

●?????Hurts new employees - For younger employees and new grads, remote work presents additional challenges in acclimating to a new company. Because new employee socialization and mentoring traditionally occurred in an office setting, some have suggested it's impossible in a remote work model.

●?????Diminished team building - Because team building typically happened in person, it could suffer outside a traditional office setting.

●?????Loss of spontaneity - The lack of chance “meetings by the water cooler” could lead to fewer instant collaborations and spontaneous “eureka” solutions.

●?????Lower productivity – Despite numerous studies to the contrary, some perceive that employees are not as productive outside the office and require constant management supervision.

I would argue that in most cases, these issues can be mitigated through engaged, purposeful management. What’s more, many of these issues are already present in some companies regardless of the workforce model – remote work is just a convenient scapegoat.

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Is There a Hidden Agenda Here?

I suspect that some companies have rejected remote work for reasons that they would never put into a press release. Such as:

●?????Multi-billion-dollar HQ buildings - Some companies have recently invested billions in massive new buildings. Examples include JP Morgan’s new $3 Billion 1425-foot New York skyscraper or Apple’s $5 Billion “spaceship” HQ. How would it look for these corporate monuments to be standing empty as thousands of employees worked from home?

●?????Weak management - Sadly, some managers care more about “butts in seats” than results or productivity. In their minds, if they can’t always see their employees at their desks, how do they know they are working rather than goofing off? Never mind that if you don’t trust your employees, you have the wrong employees.

●?????Fear of losing control - We’ve all had to endure insecure “micro-managers” at some point. Remote work does not lend itself well to micro-management.

●?????Aversion to change - Some managers are hopelessly stuck in the past and avoid innovation or change at all costs.?Anything other than the presence of every employee in the office 8 hours a day, 5 days a week is truly terrifying to them.

I find it telling that some of the most outspoken critics of remote work have some of the biggest, most expensive, and newest buildings (think JP Morgan and Apple). For incompetent managers or poorly managed companies, remote work makes a convenient excuse for their shortcomings.

So, What Happens Now?

Remote work simply works for many companies and is here to stay, regardless of what Elon Musk says - or tweets.

While remote work can present new or different management challenges, these are often outweighed by its benefits. Managers may need to adjust through more agile procedures, continuous culture building, mentorship programs, and driving both structured and impromptu collaboration. But the best owners, managers, and companies prioritize these activities already.

I’m convinced the backlash against remote work by some companies and their CEOs is all about the hidden agenda detailed above and not about productivity or accommodating new employees. Those are largely smokescreens concealing a need for perceived control.

How do I know? Many reputable studies indicate that productivity increased with a fully remote workforce during the pandemic and thereafter. Apple and JP Morgan didn’t wither and die – they did quite well with their employees working from home.?Younger, newer hires have been practically raised on technologies like Zoom, Slack, and MS Teams, so remote collaboration is second nature for these less experienced employees.

I see the pendulum swinging back toward remote work when companies realize they’ve shot themselves in the foot. Now that employees know the value of remote work, they’ll be reluctant to return to the office. Many will decide they can’t work remotely with their current employers, they’ll find a new employer.

K3 Technology Is Your Remote Work Technology Partner

At K3 Technologies, we are huge believers in remote work, and experts in making it work best in terms of security, accessibility, collaboration, and cost control.?What’s more, we are a remote-first company ourselves, so we know what works, what doesn’t, and what adjustments will optimize remote work for your business and your team members.?To find out more, contact us at K3 Technology.