Book Review: The Future of the Office
On a recent podcast dissecting the current state of return to office, I heard the author of “The Future of the Office” and thought perhaps I’d gain some insight from the book on the empirical data behind remote work and its effectiveness for both employees and employers.
Turns out the “book” is more of a printed article, or really a pamphlet (i.e. it’s a 70 page quick read), and unfortunately doesn’t dig as deep as would be helpful for leaders to understand how to make the most of the current, very-fluid situation. Citations are primarily to news articles, not academic research. And the book was written in 2021, in hindsight an odd time to be pontificating on these matters. Remember that window in 2021 when we were on the cusp of return to office, but Delta and Omicron scuttled those plans? Consider this dated gem from the book: “…Amazon alerted its office employees emphatically that it intends to bring everyone back by the fall of 2021 and not pursue a hybrid approach.” Well here we are in 2023, with an Amazon hybrid announcement of three days in office weeks starting in May.
TLDR: save a few dollars and skip the book.
But let’s have the discussion. What is there to be gained by an office?
I want to start from the perspective that in life, one should never let a good crisis go to waste.
Because it is in these times of discord and upheaval that we can rethink and reset our deeply engrained ways of operating that were previously taken for granted. Rarely do we get to do this at a societal level, and even more rarely do we know at the time that we’re in a period of a great reset. It is hard for me to remember the days when I dressed up, commuted, and spent five days a week in an office, to leave all of the home tasks for the weekend. It exhausts me. There are so many benefits to working from home beyond just a commute reduction (which was largely redirected to longer work hours according to studies). Anyone who had to immediately set up a home office in 2020 knows some of the benefits they have gained from this. But what did we lose when we started working from home?
First, remote work is disconnecting. Research shows that in mixed hybrid environments where some employees are in the office and some WFH, those at home will be penalized. They have fewer opportunities for advancement and are more likely to be laid off. Remember this if you’re choosing to be remote in an office-centric culture or pushing for a remote-work exception.
Why? Because relationships matter, and relationships are harder remote. These human relationships are key to retention in organizations, and without a strong feeling of connectedness, it is even easier for an employee to decide to move on. In addition, for those ambitious and ready to climb the corporate ladder, proximity to power and the decision makers matters. If they are in the office, it will be infinitely more challenging to be remote and maintain the same pace of advancement.
Does this mean we should go back to full time office work for everyone? Absolutely not. Is an American 5 day office work week fair for caregivers, which impacts women disproportionately? Absolutely not. Should we have these discussions openly at work and be clear on the expectations of in office and remote work? Yes. Are we? I don’t know - let me know in the comments.
I agree with one conclusion of the book. If you want to have an empowered workforce, create a system that allows your employees some degree of control. If three days a week in office are needed, let employees choose one or two of the days to help accommodate their own schedules. If employees work solely with remote teams, give them the option to decide if return to office is right for them. Understand that caregivers may have a huge benefit from WFH and that there may be periods people need a 3 or 6 months stint WFH and allow for that to retain talent.
We have the opportunity to reset work. Please don’t let a good crisis go to waste.
PS: One interesting finding, workers managed by less experienced supervisors may be better off remote, since one of the key pain points for new managers is micromanagement, which is harder to do remote. So if your manager is new…