Are Return To Office Mandates The End of Flexible Working?

You may consider the headline dramatic.

But depending on your sources, it seems many businesses are putting an end to flexible working models.?

While companies such as Boots, Disney, Amazon, Citigroup and Lloyds Banking Group have mandated that teams work from their offices for a minimum of three days in the week, the likes of Goldman Sachs instructed their employees to return to the office for the full five days since September 2023.

Four years on from the pandemic (has it been that long?), the flexible / hybrid / remote work debate continues, and is still as divisive as ever.

The sudden onslaught of COVID-19 and the almost immediate lockdowns implemented from March 2020 showed us that companies COULD support a model where employees didn’t commute to an office to sit at a desk from Monday to Friday, if they had to.

Suddenly, technology and tools such as Zoom, Teams and Slack moved into the mainstream and became the backbone of many corporations.

That lasted while we got to grips with the virus, but with the quick rollout of research and vaccination programmes, it became clear that some semblance of normalcy could resume when it came to human contact.

Businesses started to think further ahead. Was remote working sustainable, and how much longer did they have to support it? How could they get their staff back to the office?

And we saw a range of different approaches. Some tech companies initially said their teams could work remotely forever, but that has since changed...

...so what's MY view?

I think there are huge benefits to working in person. Apart from the ability to learn and collaborate, I truly believe we communicate better face-to-face. Body language and social cues aren’t picked up by technology, no matter how well designed it is.

From an anthropological perspective, the benefits of human contact and connection cannot be underestimated.

“Why not just do that with your family and friends?” I hear you ask.

I’d say to you that there are a range of different circumstances – people are single, divorced, live far from family – which can make that impractical. Particularly in Western countries such as the U.K. where the culture leans towards individualism and independence, you could argue that family structures and social connections and weaker as a result.

Having said that, there are disadvantages of blanket return to office (RTO) mandates, especially where employees are required to be in offices five days a week!?

Apart from the time and energy involved in commuting and the cost of it, there is the impact on work-life balance.

And while it may not be apparent, such models are exclusionary and make it very difficult for people in certain demographics to participate in the workforce. Parents of young children (typically mothers) and people with disabilities or chronic illnesses tend to need more flexibility that a 9 – 5 schedule allows.?

I’ve heard the argument that such issues were managed before lockdown. but how well were they managed? Here in the U.K. parents spend on obscene amount of money on childcare for pre-school children and as a result, women end up leaving the workforce in droves, sometimes never to return.?

I have discovered that some people with disabilities end up founding their own businesses. Not because they necessarily want to, but because the restrictions of the 9 – 5 model made it impossible for them to be employed.?

Losing people who can and want to work in both of these categories is such a loss; surely we should look to include them into work and economic activities, instead of excluding them?

What are your thoughts about return to office mandates?

I’ll be talking about flexible working at a LinkedIn audio event next week. Know anyone I should invite to join me as a speaker? Drop their name in the comments, or send me a DM!