I saw this article this morning on Fortune: “Bosses Regretting Return to Office Mandates”. My initial reaction was, well obviously!
For the past few months, executives pushing Return To Office (RTO) plans on remote workers has been all the rage. Pretty universally, workers are being forced to accept a “hybrid” approach which means you have spend 3 or 4 days in office and can work from home the rest. There has never been a good explanation as to why this is a good idea.
Obviously, remote workers hate returning to office. Why wouldn’t they? For 3 years now they have been working diligently from home and crushing it. For someone like me, I’ve been a remote worker almost entirely since 2004. I’ve excelled at my job and done great work for nearly 20 years from home. I’m not special in this regard.
But I can tell you one thing. I’m not regularly working from an office ever again unless you pay me an absurd amount of money.
Record Profits be Damned
Also, let’s not forget how many companies have posted record profits over the last 3 years. A freaking lot of them, that’s how many. Yet, somehow, now remote work is a problem even though companies are swimming in profits and cash.
Companies don’t become wildly profitable if their workers are slacking and not producing. So, clearly remote workers have been getting the job done and done well.
Nonsense RTO Policies
Now companies are forcing people back to the office, for no real reason other than because they say so. There are no studies or numbers backing the push. The job market has weakened a tiny bit so employers feel emboldened to make workers come back even if they don’t want to because they feel like they have more power now.
What is actually happening when these RTO mandates come down? The best employees who enjoy or prefer working remote will leave. They can find work anywhere and they will with a more progressive and thoughtful employer. There are lots great employers out there that understand the value of remote work.
But what about the “non-best” employees?
Best case for management: they will be pissed off but will abide by the mandate and come to the office. But, you won’t get the same level of productive work from them. Not a chance.
It’s pretty common on social media sites to hear that workers plan to give only the minimum after being forced into the office. Even if they don’t have that feeling or aren’t vindictive, you’re going to lose time with pointless conversations, drop by people disrupting flow constantly.
Plus the office is probably one of those freaking AWFUL open floor plan office full of noise, distractions and disruptions. Most offices suck for actually getting work done. We used to bitch and complain about cubicles when I started in industry 25 years ago. Cubicles would be SO MUCH better than the open offices we have now.
What to Do if you’re asked to RTO?
Ask why. Start there, and find out the reason. Then make a case for remaining remote. If you’re producing well for your company it shouldn’t be a problem to continue remote.
But if your employer doesn’t care and wants to force RTO – leave. Go find work at a company that is remote friendly. You don’t have to deal with the pointless and risky commute, terrible office environment, crappy food and annoying in office personalities. There are a ton of jobs out there, go find one that appreciates the work you do – not that your butt is warming a chair in their office.