Office Re-entry vs Working from home. The battle is on.

Return to office, reopening of offices, office re-entry; no matter how you say it, many companies are pushing their employees back into the office. This has not made sense to me or friends of mine who feel strongly against returning to the office. The battle is on between Employer and Employee, each weighing the pros and cons. Ultimately who will win?

Caveat: I do understand that some jobs require a person to be present to perform the work. I get that. but this article is exploring those jobs where work can be performed at home instead of the office.

I asked Chat GPT to write me an article from a company's point of view for people to return to the office. I won't include that here, but I can break down the argument in a few quick bullet points:

• Fosters a sense of community and collaboration among employees leading to more productivity and cohesiveness for teams.
• Increased accountability and oversight may lead to higher quality work.
• Potential increased innovation and creativity can benefit the company as a whole.
• Improved infrastructure and technology of the office environment enables employees to have the resources to work effectively and efficiently.

The above points indeed seem rational, and might apply to many companies, but many of the above points seem loosely tied to the benefit. Let's break these arguments down 1 by 1:

Breaking argument 1: Fostering a sense of community and collaboration leads to productivity and cohesiveness.

• The office environment can be very distracting to many individuals. As a neuro-divergent person, I can attest to the office hustle and bustle being more distracting and negatively impacting my own productivity.
• There have been studies conducted by Harvard business Review in 2019 which shows remote teams felt just as connected as their colleagues and were likely to report high levels of engagement and job satisfaction. (link to reference: https://hbr.org/2019/08/is-it-time-to-let-employees-work-from-anywhere)

• In March 2013, Stanford University published a research paper (Working paper No. 3109) where a 16,000 employee NASDAQ-listed Chinese travel agency did a 9 month study allowing some call center workers to work from home. This led to a 13% performance increase and increased calls per minute by 4%. (see link below) the data proves working from home for some worker types can increase productivity significantly.

Breaking Argument 2: Increased accountability and oversight may lead to higher quality work.

• This argument assumes there is less accountability and oversight for remote workers and teams. But this is simply not true. With the right tools and communication strategies, accountability and oversight can actually be better in a remote work setting, plus high quality work would be based on the work product and not on the worker's physical presence in the office.
• being in the office doesn't necessarily translate to guaranteed high quality work. the office space can be distracting and reduce the quality of the work for many workers. Work quality should be defined by the work product, and not the physical presence of the employee in the office.

Breaking Argument 3: Potential increased innovation and creativity can benefit the company as a whole.

• Innovation and creativity can happen regardless of whether an employee is working from home or in the office. In fact, employees working from home and diverse locations may have a better ability to "think outside the box" without having the similar surroundings of the office.
• With the right communication and collaboration tools, being in the same physical space to brainstorm is no longer necessary. These technology tools can also be more effective to communicate and collaborate than being bound by physical office spaces and conference rooms with AV equipment that doesn't always work...
• The office can actually stifle innovation and creativity because of distractions and office politics preventing some people to explore new ideas and take risks.

Breaking Argument 4: Improved infrastructure and technology of the office environment enables employees to have the resources to work effectively and efficiently.

• Many companies today provide the same technology software tools to remote workers as they do for their in-office counterparts. Since the pandemic, I've been able to do everything at home that I can do in the office, and I have a better workstation set up than at work. Infrastructure for most areas working from home has experienced dramatic improvements since 2020, and most work from home employees have the ability to choose from several internet providers for redundancy. It is arguably as good as and can be better than infrastructure at the office. This is not always the case, but for many current remote workers, this is just fine.

Now, let's bring AI back in and ask what the main benefits for a company if they let employees work from home:

(AI Disclosure: the following points are from Chat GPT)

1. Increased productivity: Working from home can lead to increased productivity as employees are often able to create a work environment that suits their individual needs and preferences. They may also be able to better manage their time, allowing them to complete tasks more efficiently.
2. Cost savings: Allowing employees to work from home can lead to significant cost savings for the company. This includes savings on office space, utilities, and other overhead costs.
3. Expanded talent pool: By allowing employees to work from home, companies can expand their talent pool beyond their geographic location. This allows them to attract and retain top talent from around the world, rather than being limited to a specific location.
4. Increased employee satisfaction: Working from home can lead to increased employee satisfaction, as it allows employees to better balance their work and personal life. This can lead to higher levels of employee engagement, retention, and overall job satisfaction.
5. Improved diversity and inclusion: Allowing employees to work from home can also improve diversity and inclusion within the company. This is because it allows individuals with disabilities, family responsibilities, or other personal circumstances to work in a more flexible and accommodating environment.

Let's also ask Chat GPT if there are employee benefits:

1. Reduced commuting time and costs: Working from home eliminates the need for a daily commute, saving employees time and money on transportation and related expenses.
2. Improved work-life balance: By allowing employees to work from home, companies can help their employees better balance their work and personal life. This can lead to reduced stress and improved overall well-being.
3. Increased flexibility: Working from home provides employees with increased flexibility in terms of when and where they work. This can allow them to better manage personal responsibilities and obligations.
4. Reduced stress and distractions: Working from home can provide a quieter and less stressful work environment, allowing employees to focus on their work and be more productive.
5. Health benefits: Working from home can lead to improved health outcomes for employees, as it reduces exposure to illness, encourages healthy habits such as regular exercise and healthy eating, and can help reduce stress.
6. Improved job satisfaction: By providing employees with more flexibility and autonomy, working from home can lead to improved job satisfaction and a stronger sense of purpose.

And let's not forget global community benefits, please enlighten us Chat GPT:

1. Reduced carbon footprint: By reducing the number of employees commuting to a physical office, companies can significantly reduce their carbon footprint and contribute to global efforts to combat climate change.
2. Improved air quality: Fewer commuters means fewer cars on the road, which can lead to improved air quality and reduced pollution.
3. Reduced traffic congestion: Fewer commuters also means reduced traffic congestion, which can lead to improved traffic flow, reduced travel times, and reduced fuel consumption.
4. Increased job opportunities: By allowing employees to work from home, companies can expand their pool of potential job candidates beyond their immediate geographic area. This can create more job opportunities for people in rural or economically disadvantaged areas.
5. Improved work-life balance for employees with family responsibilities: By allowing employees to work from home, companies can support employees with family responsibilities, such as parents caring for children or individuals caring for elderly relatives. This can help to create a more supportive and inclusive workplace.

The above points from AI through Chat GPT are excellent and I don't have any counter arguments for.

What bothers me about some companies is that they seem to be pushing these weak arguments and completely ignoring the benefits to the company, employees, and global community.

Is there anyone with a differing opinion on working from the office versus working from home? If so I'd like to learn what I might be missing. I think companies need to begin strategizing around how many people they can have work from home effectively instead of coming up with ideas to bring people back to the physical offices. For those who have to be in the office to perform their job duties - I get it. For those who lack infrastructure or reliable internet connection - I get it. I would suggest companies should allow employees to choose rather than choosing for them.