Lyft CEO fires 26% and tells the rest to return to the office. Here's why it's risky.

Is it ironic that just as we celebrate Labor Day, a deluge of articles about returning to the office hit us? Let's dive into this week's article, plus a few extras.

Lyft CEO fires 26% and tells the rest to return to the office. Here's why it's risky.

Lyft has become one of the many companies that have asked their employees to return to the office after Apple, Google, and Amazon, among others.

The ride-hailing company's CEO David Risher suggested in an interview with 纽约时报 ' Kellen Browning that working face-to-face is faster, and that remote work leads to isolation and deteriorating company culture.

Of note is that he made the demand right after firing 26% of the entire Lyft workforce.

Employees don't mind the office but want flexibility

Employees are not against the office – in fact, most of them do like coming in. On average, they want to be there 2.5-3 days weekly.?

This is specifically true for younger employees, who prefer more time in the office than older employees and are less likely to want to work remotely completely, especially for learning & development opportunities.

I loved Robin Madell 's conversation with Dana Good ,?in which this fresh grad shares how she dreads the wasted time, money, and energy spent commuting and dressing up for an in-person job.

Granting (young) employees flexibility makes sense because remote work has many benefits, including increased job satisfaction, employee retention, reduced operating costs, and increased diversity, as Nick Bloom and other researchers prove.

Office days should be intentional

As companies transition to a hybrid work model, making the office days intentional and beneficial to the employees is essential.

Our Chief Experience Officer, Abhishek Mathur , said in our recent "Help I'm a Hybrid Manager" webinar that managers should understand their employees' needs, and use the office as a hub for activities that benefit from being done in person.

Agate founder and workplace strategist Corinne Murray added that "most companies are too focused on bringing employees back into the workplace rather than understanding what works best for the type of work the employee is doing."

Don't give in!

Employees at J.P. Morgan, where the CEO called employees?into the office thrice a week?and managers full-time, complained about a "Zoom culture"?in which staffers were stuck on virtual conference calls even when present.

It's clear that business leaders revert back to what they're used to when times are tough. People-first companies shouldn't give in.

In her great article?It’s time to ‘grownupify’ work, Amy Leschke-Kahle reminds us that "countless studies show how important flexibility and agency are to employee experience.?A grownup workplace trusts employees to make the call on?where and when they contribute most."

Read the full article: Lyft CEO fires 26% and tells the rest to return to the office. Here's why it's risky.

• In a nice infographic, my team member Quang Nguyen put together the AI tools to help managers work smarter, not harder. From writing to getting on-the-job coaching, I'm already experiencing many benefits of AI. How about you?

• Last Thursday, we had the great pleasure of having 廖佳莹 , Klara Krok-Paszkowska , and Abhishek Mathur discuss how to manage hybrid and remote teams effectively. The fantastic insights and full recording can be found here.
• I viewed CNBC International 's Goh Chiew Tong 's "Watching YouTube at work? Your manager may know" with great interest. Following recent conversations and interviews, I wonder if we can avoid "time tracking." If we want more flexibility, is it unreasonable to provide some productivity data points in return?

"?? Alyssa, I really like how you layer the different pillars as points of intervention in an employee’s journey."

Frank (Yu Hang) Ng from the mental health platform Intellect about Alyssa Than (MBPsS) 's Future Work Podcast interview about well-being strategies that work.

That's it for this week! I hope you like this updated format. As always, let me know what you'd like to see more (and less) of, as we explore the Future of Work together.

Daan