The Hesitancy To Return To The Office
Mitch Joel
ThinkersOne. Entrepreneur. Investor. Speaker. Author. Podcaster. Decoder of the future. Books: Six Pixels of Separation & CTRL ALT Delete.
There is hesitancy to…
There is NO hesitancy to…
Imagine if…
Teachers, nurses, doctors, specialists, store owners, and more said,?“the pandemic has changed us… we will only come back to in-person work two/three days a week… the rest will have to be virtual.”
I’ve been on the road and traveling for the past few months. This has been the sentiment expressed to me by a myriad of professionals from event organizers and Chief Marketing Officers to heads of large venture capital firms and leaders within some of the most exciting brands in the world today.
I’ve also seen this behavior first-hand.
One c-suite executive with more than 100,000 employees in their organization said that the company is demanding that employees come to the office three days a week.
Two of the days are mandatory (Monday and Thursday) and the third day is at the discretion of the employee.
How is that working out?
Scheduling meetings internally has become a nightmare.
Scheduling meetings with clients and partners are even a greater nightmare.
Actually getting work done on Monday and Thursday is impossible.
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Monday and Thursday are stacked with meetings with no time to think and actually get the work done.
Plus, because the team members only see one another twice a week in person, socializing and “coffee breaks” seem to be where most of the energy and “culture” is happening on those two days (in between the meetings). Because of this, deadlines and timelines are being shifted to make space for more time to “get the work done.”?
The worst part (according to this executive)?
Without any surveillance software, but by simply looking at the overall network traffic (emails, virtual meetings, accessing of corporate documents, etc…), the company is estimating that on Fridays the digital traffic is running at less than 10% of the usual traffic.
They are translating this as: Everyone is taking a long weekend… every week.
So, what do we have?
We have a bustling city during the work week with only about 20-30% of the office filled.
For those who do show up? They’re working in an office with 30% occupancy, and spending most of their days in Zoom meetings.
My hot take?
These numbers demonstrate just how unsatisfied the vast majority of the work population is with their current vocation.
These numbers demonstrate that while the work population can get their tasks done, other components like mentorship, lending a helping hand in an adhoc moment, or being a part of something greater than the individual’s to-do list are falling by the wayside.
Companies can do whatever they want to encourage people back to the office (free lunch, beer carts, free parking, etc), but if they don’t tackle this bigger issue of overall workplace satisfaction and the need for employees to want to be a part of the greater vision, we’re going to have even bigger corporate challenges…
Especially at this moment in time, when we’re on the cusp of what economists are predicting will be a deep recession.
Buckle up.
WSJ Best Selling author & founder of QCard, a SaaS platform designed to empower professionals to showcase their expertise, grow their reach, and lead their markets.
2 年Great article, Mitch! I'm with you - companies need to address the bigger picture of workplace satisfaction among employees. Companies must listen to their employees and encourage them to share their insights throughout the decision-making to understand what works best for the company and its people.?
Advisor at Nourish Leadership Health Equity | Accessibility | Patient & family centered care
2 年Remote work has opened up possibilities for people with disabilities to participate meaningfully in the workforce. This is a positive thing! As for surveillance software, that would kill company morale too. The normal we knew before March 2020 was not working for so many people. Right now we're in an interesting transition, and there's no going back if we want to be mindful of: -the current climate crisis -fragile healthcare system -people newly disabled and struggling with Long Covid Husband's work has surveyed them 3-5 times over the past 2.5 years about going back in-person. No one wants 100% full time. Especially for people with long commutes and/or caregiving responsibilities. They'd rather have the autonomy and flexibility to set their own schedule working remotely. We're in for interesting times.
Consultant, Vincamax Inc.
2 年Great assessment of the situation Mitch and 100% aligned with what I'm hearing from my clients and ex colleagues whether in large corporations or in small/medium businesses. I'm also seeing that employers who are too agressive in trying to bring their people back are not successful given that it's an employee market like I've never experienced before. In the short term employees have so many options that forcing them back is, in my opinion, business suicide. The real question now is: How do you "fix" this? How do you adjust as an employer to this new reality while remaining financially healthy and growing your business. It can be done, and it is being done, but I sometimes wonder if those who are doing it successfully currently will be able to sustain it. Can't wait to read your next book on how to do it! ;)
??? Most Popular CMO - IAMAI ?? National Topper - Maths ?? A Numbers-First Marketer + Growth Consultant ?? Airtel, Amul, MMT, Reliance, Toyota, M&S, Philips, Licious, CoinDCX, Unilever, P&G, Intel, 500+ more.
2 年Very reasonable Description! Totally agree with you.
Founder/Creator/Producer
2 年Interesting Mitch. I have heard varying reports from the UK and the U.S. that productivity is actually up overall with remote, that commuting is the biggest complaint as regards return to office, and that loneliness is a problem for many working at home. In other words, people are all over the place on this issue :)