Home, Hybrid, Presence - work from Anywhere! But no cake!

As this year is still young and the COVID-19 pandemic somewhat over, we get together again with other people. And at many of the new year's receptions, where people from different backgrounds mingle, one question is always present: "are you back in the office?"

Many people have strong opinions about the office as such - some think it is inevitable that companies need to have their employees in the office to get back to pre-pandemic productivity-levels while others think that not being in the office let's them be more productive. Some experiment with hybrid formats, some companies want to enforce strict office policy with a fixed number of days at home and at the office.

And then this headline was published a few days ago in the Seattle Times, which seemed somewhat ironic:

Starbucks employees to go back to office 3 days a week

So this is the company that essentially made it possible for plenty of workers in the last two decades to work away from the office. The company that offered coffee together with decent wifi. The company that helped relax the attitude on presence in the office, at least in urban settings. This company is now enforcing a strict rule on presence in the office? What a strange thought.

Do we still need this strictness after the big jump to working from home during the pandemic? As we work primarily with startups and corporates, we see that most startups maintain their flexibility whereas corporates go back to stricter policies. Along with that the number of meetings rise and more people complain that while it is nice to see colleagues again, the return to the office doesn't necessarily lead to more productivity. Yet we all miss the serendipity that the office can offer to us when having the random watercooler talk with other people.

Let people get their work done from where ever they want to work! It's kind of like working with developers, but it requires better communication skills to bridge the gap via Slack, Zoom and all the other tools that help us connect without having an office.

Flexibility will be key in offering great work environments in the future. Just don't bring any cake, at least not in the UK!