Is Working Remotely Unfair to Front-Line Workers?

In January 2024, the Wall Street Journal reported how some large companies, including UPS and Boeing, are "requiring full-time attendance for at least some segment of their workforces… Some CEOs say it is unfair for corporate employees to do their jobs remotely part of the time while front-line staffers must show up daily."

Earlier this month, JP Morgan Chase announced that its 300,000 employees (with a few exceptions) will have to work full time from the office starting in March. A few days later, the company “shut down comments on an internal webpage announcing the bank’s return-to-office policy after dozens of them criticized the move and at least one suggested that affected employees should unionize,” according to the WSJ.

Do you agree that “it is unfair for corporate employees to do their jobs remotely part of the time while front-line staffers must show up daily?”?

We asked members of our Indago supply chain research community -- who are all supply chain and logistics executives from manufacturing, retail, and distribution companies -- that question in February 2024.

More than half the respondents (52%) either “Disagreed” (33%) or “Strongly Disagreed” (19%) that “it is unfair for corporate employees to do their jobs remotely part of the time while front-line staffers [like drivers and warehouse workers] must show up daily?”

At the time, almost three quarters of our member respondents (74%) were expected to be in the office a minimum number of days per week, with 15% required to be in the office every day.

We also asked our members, “Do you believe your frontline workers (e.g., drivers, warehouse workers, manufacturing staff, retail workers) feel ‘it’s unfair for corporate employees to do their jobs remotely part of the time while [they] must show up daily?’”

More than a third of the respondents (37%) believe their frontline workers feel it’s unfair they have to come in every day to do their job while corporate employees can work remotely; 41% said they don’t know.

For those who don’t know, and those who “believe” but don’t know for sure, maybe they should ask their front-line employees how they truly feel about the situation.

Here are some comments submitted by our members:

“I work remotely and commute one day a week to the office. Yes, remote options are imperative and that CEO [the one quoted in the WSJ article who wants everyone to return to the office] is completely disconnected from today’s workforce.”

“My team in the Logistics/Supply Chain functional areas have a flex schedule of in-office and remote. There are roles that are not required to be in the office due to their transient nature and some that are required to be in the office more often. We have the means to track productivity in either situation and we adjust accordingly.”

“We are hybrid with required Tues, Wed, Thurs in the office. While I believe that hybrid support is necessary for retention of talent, I also believe that prior to the pandemic, we had allowed some flexibility, which also supported this balance. For collaboration, speed, and agility, I have seen degradation for remote work in most roles. If your role requires no interaction with others, it is likely a role that will be evaluated for process optimization/ automation. While younger workers want the remote/ heavily hybrid roles, they will miss out on ongoing development which will end up as a detriment to them when they seek to move into higher levels of the organization where leadership skills are needed.”

When it comes to problem solving, employee training, learning from peers, productivity, and collaboration, do you believe working in the office or working remotely is better for supply chain management, or do you believe both are the same? Our members shared their perspectives on that question too. For all the research results, Indago members can download the report from our website.

What about you? Do you currently work remotely part or all of the time? Do you believe offering remote work options is imperative to hire and retain supply chain employees, especially younger workers? Post a comment and share your perspective!

The Road to 1,000 Indago Members

This coming March will mark 6 years since we launched Indago. Our goal is to reach 1,000 members by the end of 2025 -- and to break the $30,000 mark in charity donations since we launched.

Why join Indago? Here’s how a couple of our members answered that question:

“Joining Indago has been great. On a monthly basis I complete an easy, 5 minute survey about important topics in Supply Chain (I often complete the survey on my smartphone). I find value in completing the survey; it gives me a reason to spend a moment defining my perspective on strategic topics. In return, I am able to see the results of the survey and the perspectives of my peers. On a few occasions, I’ve reconsidered my position based on what the community suggests, and other times, I’m happy to see the validation of my views (especially on topics that have been overhyped in the trade journals). Because the surveys are anonymous, it’s a risk free way to engage the Supply Chain community and get quick, honest feedback." -- VP of Operations, Food & Beverage Company

“I decided to join Indago for two reasons. One is to be part of a group that provides real time feedback from companies on topics in the supply chain world. The second reason is that Indago supports charities that make the world a better place. It’s a great one - two combination!” -- Director of Freight & Warehousing, $1B+ Food & Beverage Company

So, what are you waiting for? Find out what you’ve been missing and join Indago today!

If you're a supply chain or logistics practitioner from a MANUFACTURING, RETAIL, or DISTRIBUTION company and you’re interested in learning from your peers, I encourage you to learn more about Indago and join our research community. It is confidential, there is no cost to join and the time commitment is minimal (2-4 minutes per week) — plus your participation will help support charitable causes like Breakthrough T1D, American Logistics Aid Network, American Cancer Society, Feeding America, and Make-A-Wish.

(If you’re a TECHNOLOGY VENDOR or THIRD-PARTY LOGISTICS COMPANY, please do not apply. If you’re interested in receiving our research results and contributing questions for us to ask our members, we have a subscription service available. Please contact me for additional information.)