Returning to the office, or not

As the COVID-19 pandemic wanes, companies must consider their future. Do they require all employees to return to the office? Do they continue a "work from home" policy?

Some companies have announced "work from home forever" policies. 

Some companies have required employees to return to the office. The response has often been one of protest, with some workers quitting their jobs instead of returning to the office.

Other companies have announced hybrid schedules. Apple is probably the largest company to announce such a schedule. Its employees protested such a plan.

Why such hostility to returning to normal? I have a few ideas.

Work-life balance: The shift to work-from-home has given workers experience with a different work-life balance. Parents have been able to watch their children. Workers have been able to not only get a cup of coffee but also do the laundry while working.

Companies, for a long time, have asked their employees to think about work-life balance, probably so the company can boast high scores for employee engagement and quality of workplace. Companies want to rank high on the "best places to work" surveys. With work-from-home experience, employees now have a new understanding of "work-life balance". It is now more than an item on an annual survey. Employees have more control and a better work-life balance when working from home, and they like it.

The commute: Employees have found that a "commute" from the bedroom to the kitchen table (or wherever they set up their workspace) is much more pleasant than the daily drive to the office. (Or the bus ride. Or the carpool.) To companies, this is an externality; employees bear the entire cost and effort of the commute, and must allow for delays and side trips. Asking people to switch from a 20-second walk to a 30-minute drive (and pay for gasoline and tolls) is imposing a cost, and employees are aware of the cost. It's easy to understand the advantages of the work-from-home commute.

Privacy: The modern office, with either an open-floor plan or even cubicles, provides little in the way of privacy. Interruptions can be frequent. Distractions can be many. Working at home provides interruptions and distractions too, but they can be moderated. Some people have even found ways to work in a spare room, with a door that can be closed.

I suspect that most employers are asking their workers to return to the (unmodified) offices with open-floor plans. Employees know that this will mean more noise, more distractions, and less privacy.

Lighter supervision: Employees working at home have zero chance of a manager walking past their workspace. Managers must make an extra effort to contact an employee. This means that employees can spend more time working, which can mean higher productivity. (Or at least longer periods of focus on work and less on management.)

If companies want employees to return to the office, they can mandate it (and workers will grudgingly return but they won't be happy) or they can request it (but they must make a good case to persuade workers to return).

A winning presentation to workers will have to address all of the above ideas. Saying "we'll all be in one place" won't cut it, nor will "we work better when we're together". Workers have had some degree of independence, and they (for the most part) like it.