Return to Work’s Last Stand?

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According to Adam Grant, who regularly writes, teaches and researches about the workplace: Leaders are finally getting the message. In a recent survey, 96 percent of CEOs said it’s not a 2024 priority to get people in the office full-time.

Grant recently referred to a four year study of S&P companies, where mandated return to work policies failed to increase profits, while job satisfaction and work-life balance fell.

Clumsy and/or misguided managers are apparently disproportionately laying off remote workers when faced with staff reduction decisions. Note this Wall Street Journal article to that effect. The belief is that somehow “out of sight equals out of mind,” and this precept becomes the primary basis of lay-offs. How dumb is that? If the criteria for keeping a job is personal proximity to the boss, then ALL employees ought to fight for a work spot just outside the big boss’ office.

Strong, confident leaders know that impactful results balanced with consistent constructive behavior is the key to staying employed. Most high performers, because of a propensity to behave with deep self-accountability, while embracing autonomy, do not hang around the boss unnecessarily. Why waste time or act in a duplicative way?

So any leader who uses remote work as a leading criteria for determining layoff has lost their compass regarding what’s really important.

This out of proportion layoff and remote worker correlation will fade away, and like Adam Grant notes overall: If you want people to work at a particular place, make it compelling and stop treating people like toddlers. This includes recognizing that given reasonable autonomy, most people will make solid decisions regarding where and how to get the best work done.

Think Big, Start Small, Act Now,

Lorne

One Millennial View: Aren’t we a little sick of the debate at this point? Employers and employees, just pick a camp. Be fully transparent about the hard line decision you’re making, one way or the other. If you can’t seem to work or lead with hybrid options, then stick to your convictions and declare that you’re a return-to-work operation (and fight to retain your talent). If a hybrid adaptation works for you, then keep proving it leads to the continued success of yourself, your team, and your organization. This back-and-forth (and dreaming up lackluster reasoning) is seemingly going to bleed workforces dry sooner than just planting feet in the sand and then moving on.

- Garrett

Edited and published by Garrett Rubis

Return to Work’s Last Stand?

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