ABC in Australia has a provocative article that makes the (obvious) case that it’s easier to start remote work than it is to end it. Remote work seems custom made for the tech industry and, indeed, they were among the first to embrace the notion when the COVID-19 epidemic first appeared. Now, though, as they see the end of the threat, they’re trying to get their employees back in the office. Their employees aren’t enthusiastic. Most, but not all of them, don’t want to return.
The companies make their usual claim that having people in the office encourages synergy: that employees will talk to each other, exchange ideas, and new concepts will emerge. We hear this so often it seems like an inarguable truth. But is it true? Not everyone thinks so. According to the article, Ed Zitron, who runs a public relations firm, has this to say,
The only reason to have an office, he says, is to satisfy managers
with vested interests in grouping people together “so that they can
look at them and feel good about the people that they own … so that
they can enjoy that power”.
Irreal is inclined toward that view but not everyone agrees. Odd as it seems to those of us who love remote work, some people really do like going into the office. Some folks just don’t like the feeling of isolation. Others feel that going to the office serves to separate their work life from their home life.
It’s hard to know how it will all play out but it’s probably true that micromanagers who would like to enforce a one-size-fits-all solution are going to experience a lot of pushback. One thing for sure, we’re not going back to the way things were.