Is the pushback to the office hiding something we’ve not talked about?

Staff who traditionally have found the office or the towering landscape of the city home pre-COVID lockdowns discovered that, in many ways, work could continue from home. There have been lessons learned; some things worked well, and other things not so well.

Working from home became a reality overnight, a push most digital and savvy people have been working on since the dawn of the Internet. The video conference has been around for decades. It’s been unsurprising to many that the pushback reverting to the ways pre-COVID has been met with tension and resistance.

2023 now seems to be a mark to return to the pre-COVID era and get back to the office. The CBA has sent out mandates to return (AFR May 2023) or at least in part. Unions have stepped in early, encouraging mandates of a 50/50 split between working from the office or at home. Could a gentle easing back into pre-COVID life can be done?

The reason for some of the tension and resistance is that, for some (and possibly many), the discovery of something powerful during this time. It is not only a way to continue work but to deliver new levels of productivity, delivering ongoing value greater than before. More so, we see the drive to hybrid models of productivity, where the balance between in-person and remote reigns. Focus is allocated to different locations, methods, modes, personalities, skills and styles. A team member with agency and passion, they discovered an entirely new way to deliver every day. ???

We have seen some with large investments in floor space struggle, the space has fewer people to accommodate. Costs have moved, changed and investments in real estate have shifted rapidly. Likewise, managing (or micro-managing, for the cynic) a team in the same location could seem ideal to have everyone in the same place.

In some ways, to get back to the old way is a shortcut to see the pre-COVID status quo return. Could this approach simply be lazy leadership? Or is it a wise move?

Surely it seems ideal and obvious to now return to the office.

We’ve seen this before in the earlier parts of the industrial revolution. Factories rose with manufacturing, supply chains, management, and administration all in one ideal location (centralised). When the canals in England were built, they sustained and enhanced this approach, allowing more supply in and out of key physical locations.

As globalisation took hold, however, the rise of the de-centralised organisation appeared. These operations started to become smaller, yet more and more of these smaller operations spread throughout the world. Today, Apple has manufacturing in several countries, with administration and other activities in the USA and throughout the world.

What could this return to the office be hiding?

Could it be that new models of distributed teams have discovered the capability and opportunity to extend globalisation further than ever before? If that’s the case, are our leaders, managers, and organisations able to cope and continue?

Futurist Bob Johansen, discusses this idea of a shape-shifting organisation, which at it’s core is best described as distributed in his book ‘The Leadership Literacies – Thriving in a future of extreme disruption and distributed everything’.

Ongoing advances in the connectivity of the world via the Internet and more organisations being digital at heart. Decentralised capabilities are more accessible than ever. Not to mention with everything now being ‘in the cloud’ makes accessibility to digital resources easier and faster than ever. We see people now making a micro office in their home, delivering to their teams in a greater way than imagined.

In my own organisation at M31 Consulting, I’ve been toiling with traditional business models and modes. The old ways no longer work as I expected. We needed to shift quickly. Our customers can be anywhere. So, we too can be and are anywhere at any time.

I am encouraged by our new approach at M31, revenues continue to grow, and for me personally, I get to work with many more people and organisations than ever before.

It does mean things need to change, the way we do business at the core may need changes and adaptions. It will be a challenging time, yet I know we can do it.

What gets measured gets monitored, and what gets monitored gets managed.

For some, seat time is the best way to ensure that certain activities need to unfold. Perhaps a balance between home and the office is the best and most suitable option. And for some, the outcomes met, the value delivered, and the innovation nurtured in experimentation will differ not to mention all the new ways we’ve yet to discover.

Let’s take a moment to think differently and find new ways to understand and those new metrics and approaches to our management and leadership.

Are we seeing a symptom of this disruption in the pushback to the office?

Are you a leader and manager poised to adapt and respond to these new ways of doing?

Mike Meyer – Founder and Independent CIO @ M31 Consulting

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Mike is a digital and technology leader with 25+ years neck deep in all things techy. He’s had the delight of partnering with local, national, and international teams in all walks of life. Founder and Independent CIO of M31 Consulting fractional digital and technology leadership - Straight down the line advice, oversight, and management designed to make the digital journey smooth, with results to release our people so they can perform at their best

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Commonwealth Bank boss Matt Comyn orders staff back to the office amid growing work-from-home backlash among employers (afr.com)

?Thank you Bob Johansen for the inspiration

?Mike Meyer (MACS-CP) | LinkedIn