How Our Return to the Office Conversation Ends

Let's start a conversation about the return to the office. We're all dealing with it. Even as Covid is claiming more folks, we're damned if we're going to retreat again. We're almost back. We're going to concerts, we're traveling for business, we're vacationing again. No one wants to go back into lockdown. Well, except for ALL OF YOUR WORKERS.

Not one of your workers would rather be sitting in your office building. Nope. Not even if you're Apple and have the greatest office building ever constructed. And an open office plan to make things even LESS attractive. (Sure, the open office was innovated 10-years ago, but it has been proven to be a disaster for productivity.) So, Apple (and every other brick-and-mortar-focused company) is having a problem with its workers. They are protesting the return to the office. Their cubes are prettier and more advanced. Their cafe is gourmet and cheaper than any restaurant. AND Apple is having a hard time convincing its staff that the OFFICE is the place where innovation and collaboration happen.

It's simply not true.

I have been writing some posts on Medium recently about The Great Return to the Office. One of them has even gone viral. And I'm still trying to engage my colleagues to have a conversation about the second BIG LIE. (No not Trump's big lie.) The second big lie, is that we're better in our offices. We're longing for community and conversations. We're all chomping at the bit to get back OUT THERE.

Nope.

That's why Apple and other less-innovative companies are going to struggle to convince their teams that the cube is the best-and-brightest use of their time. It is not.

Here are the medium articles in order of appearance. I'd love to hear what you think about the great return vs. the big lie.

The Conversation Continues with These Posts:

• What the Return to the Office is Missing
• Dreaming of My Cube
• #RTO Apple Employees Fight Back
• Dark Offices
• All Our Beautiful Offices
• What’s Your Cube Like?
• View from the Cube
• Apple’s Severance & Our Return to Cube Life
• Zooming Back to the Office
• Return to Office Space — 2022
• Yeah, About This “Getting Back to Work” Thing!

References:

• Apple Park employees revolt over having to work in open-plan offices
• Apple Employees Letter to Apple Executive Leadership

John McElhenney —?life coach austin texas

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PLEASE READ:?Letters to a Young Artist in the Digital Age?from John McElhenney