I agree with much of what is said in this article. It has a place, just like pre-covid, but not nearly as much as it currently exists. Bosses are fed up with remote work for 4 main reasons. Some of them are undeniable No. 1: Remote work is bad for new hires and junior employees This one is not nearly as controversial as it sounds. Especially when you’re new on the job, being physically present can be an enormous leg up; even the supposedly anti-office Gen Z workers acknowledge the overwhelming truth of this. No. 2: Workers admit that remote work (sometimes) causes more problems than in-person work When executed incorrectly, hybrid work plans can create discordant, unproductive teamwork. That’s especially true when teams don’t make an effort to align their in-office days. No. 3: Remote workers put in 3.5 hours less per day of work compared to in-person workers Sure, it’s true that remote workers squeeze in errands, exercise, and laundry between 9 and 5, but just how much? A working paper submitted to the National Bureau of Economic Research found that remote workers worldwide save 72 minutes a day on average just from avoiding their commute, and that on average, of that time saved, 40% goes to extra work. No. 4: Productivity plummets on days when everyone is working remotely (anecdotally) In March 2023, Drum wrote a post highlighting what the CEO of an HR tech firm told the Wall Street Journal: On days his team is working remotely, new subscriber counts plummet 30%. But that’s just one anecdote; even Drum himself says the stat is amazing—“if [the CEO] isn't exaggerating.” A piece of hard data in Drum’s favor here is the shocking decline in productivity across five straight quarters, unprecedented in the postwar era. EY-Parthenon’s chief economist Gregory Daco told Fortune that he’s heard similar stories from clients across sectors of “reduced productivity because of the new work environment.” Daco added that remote work is only one piece of the puzzle here. “The difficulty is that there is no magic productivity wand.”
I prefer in-person. That way I can walk around quickly carrying a padfolio doing nothing so that the CEO will consider me “productive” when he is also walking around quickly carrying something and doing nothing.
You can find as many studies saying it is more productive. Both can work in my opinion and I really like hybrid. My experience has been remote workers are much more productive, much happier, and much more likely to work off hours to catch up, are cheaper and more qualified. Basically hiring the best person in one city vs the entire country has trade offs. The down side is really "soft" benefits like collaboration, development, culture, which is not measurable in a short timeline but would need years of study. Therefore it just defaults to bosses doing what they are comfortable with, which is seeing a worker vs measuring a worker. Can Employees Be More Productive From Home? Work Flexibility and Work-Related Well-Being - PMC How to Improve Remote Work Productivity | Remote
We've been working remote since Covid, and our team has gotten more work done in those 5 years then before. But I think that can be pretty common for software developers.... Some of our team now goes in 1 day a week (and they HATE it), but me I still enjoy my 5 days at home working..
I've been all over the place the last few years, some 100% f2f, some hybrid, some fully remote. I like the hybrid option best, and from the little research I've done, it appears a lot of people do like Hybrid work options. People who are 100% remote often do miss the office fooling around, team-building, etc. but almost no one wants to everyday deal with a commute, paid parking, and just sitting in your office twiddling your thumbs between projects when you could just as easily go and do your laundry, or paint a room, or clean your pool, etc. Instead, when people are at work and don't want to work for a minute, they just post on too hot from the office when you are bored. Also - I see this a lot at work now - people who schedule meetings where they walk around and take the meeting outside. Or so they say. For all I know they're just enjoying a walk and listening to a podcast. What I would suggest, is that the US needs to deeply reflect on how we approach work entirely. We might be the most productive country in the world at times - but our work to the bone culture is not doing us any favors as it relates to burnout and well-being.
I’ve been to the office three times since Covid. And it’s about 25 minutes away. I’ve been fine productivity wise, but I’m also in a role I’ve been in for a long time. And I’ve worked with my team for forever (even after three promotions between us, I’ve reported to the same person for over a decade), so not a lot of networking missed. Our software folks go in once a week or so though, and they seem to like that. They are largely newer and contractors though, so it makes more sense.
I can agree with this. Biggest loser is employee development. It is a limited set of interpersonal skills that can be learned remotely and others that can be lost or diminished by being remote. Young employees have a hard enough time talking to people now. more time behind a keyboard doesn't help that
I feel like these studies would have more validity if they didn't start with the assumption that workers in an office aren't also finding ways to dick around for hours on end.
You mean it isn't a binary decision? (Gasp), say it isn't so. MAGA isn't going to like this. MAGA loves to keep things elementary simple and as binary as possible.
I get your point and agree with you. I will remind us though that even when we were "in office" we were about the most productive workforce in the world and its gotten better since. Thanks Biden! FYI - id sum up TFP as technology improvements.
Some jobs can be done remotely and some simply can't. Obviously anyone working in a factory making something can't work remotely.
