Went into the office for the first time in 2 years, because I had to print out and bind some documents before shipping them off. In a company of more than 400 people, I saw 4. I could see going in once in a while, if I needed to. But I don't really need to. Since the last time I was in the office in February 2020, my entire team has dissolved, and I have been moved over to a different department in a different part of the building. But my cubicle with my name on it still stands alone in a vast dark room with nobody around. The next two years in corporate America are going to be very weird. I can't see people happily returning to the status quo... and yet all this expensive real estate is built on the idea of people having to come into a specific location to prove they are working... I just don't see people going back to that, if there are other options. I've already knocked back my schedule so I get off work at noon on Tuesday and Thursdays, so I can help care for my Dad as he travels the Alzheimers road. Sure, it's only 6 hours a week, but ... I'm still making a full salary and still getting all my work done easily. The rules of the game are changing. For the better, I feel. And Amazon warehouse workers won the right to organize a Union. Shit is changing for working stiffs.
My company is going to a hybrid approach with three days minimum in the office. That becomes effective Monday. I've been going in one or two days a week during their six week reintegration process. There were more in Monday than I saw the first week, but it's still really quiet. It feels like most of the company used the six weeks as covid status quo and stayed home. While I'd like to see a more generous policy, my boss said nobody is going to be checking, so be an adult and it'll work out. I heard from someone in my old job that their vice president said it's "must be present to win" about their more liberal long term work from home policy. I love working from home but think our clear hybrid policy is better than the unofficial one others will have. Unwritten expectations will turn away more good workers than hybrid will.
Either way, be prepared for your top performers to go somewhere else that will allow them to WFH and not treat them like second-class citizens for doing so. I see my company's commitment to a hybrid policy as fully suicidal.Unwritten expectations will turn away more good workers than hybrid will.
We've had an unexpected number of resignations in the past couple months. All are explainable with good opportunities opening up, and I think the number of open positions out there are putting more pressure on us than hybrid or WFH. And they all know if it didn't work out they'd be welcomed back with open arms.
My work was adamant we had to return to the offices as soon as we could. It's so strange seeing them try to sell it to us, after we adapted to remote working damn near seamlessly. My staff are the operations people supporting the teaching that goes on in our institution - they don't need to physically be there for anything, and haven't since our rapid adjustment in 2020. But no, the powers that be want us all to be on site, wearing masks in the empty offices, continue paying for parking/commuting as the price of living creeps up. Does my head in. I'm allowed to work from home when I need to, management perks, but I really hate doing that when I know none of my staff are offered that same flexibility.
I've started encouraging discussion about the situation. But my manager is super not keen on allowing WFH, so it's kind of under the table at the moment. Kiwis are allowed to travel overseas now finally, so one staff member has flown to the USA for a month, and I said she could work from home in the build up - lest she get Covid and have to cancel the trip. Sure enough my manager said no to working from home in the build up, so I told my staff she could do it anyway and we wouldn't tell anyone. She WFH, got on her flight and is enjoying herself. Nobody outside of our area knew and her work didn't alter in the slightest.