A new survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that while business leaders see more negative than positive effects from remote work, they also believe it is here to stay. Two-thirds of respondents said remote work negatively impacted workplace culture, cohesiveness, communication, and training, but over half said it makes it easier to recruit staff, and over two-thirds said it helps retain them. This data is echoed in a survey by the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank, where executives expect hybrid and remote to grow.
And they’re right; it’s here to stay. Research indicates that work from home is stabilizing at about 25% of days, a five-fold jump compared to 2019.
There’s also a subtle shift here too. The Washington Post reports that while companies are measuring days in the the office, they aren’t measuring ours spent… meaning the 9 to 5 is disappearing. According to WiFi data from Basking, a workplace occupancy analytics firm, only about half of office visits now last for at least six hours at a time.
There are a number of headlines about giant companies declaring this all wrong. Amazon went big with a press push, and so did Goldman Sachs. Notably, some Amazon employees are resigning over it.
I want to highlight one unique approach. J.M. Smucker Co. has introduced a new return-to-office plan called “core” weeks, where employees are only required to be on site 25% of the time during 22 core weeks each year. The company publishes the core week schedule a year in advance, allowing employees to plan ahead, and meetings requiring deep focus are reserved for core weeks. Smucker has seen benefits such as increased flexibility in recruiting and more socializing during core weeks.
Why do we care?
Let’s ignore the press hype where one big company CEO tries to use the press to impact their company policy. Think this way – when you have to go to a press outlet to get support for your policy, you can’t get internally; you’re doing something wrong.
And that’s the key lesson. While a small few are screaming from the rooftops, trying to make change, they’re just Sisyphus pushing that rock up the hill… only to be forever fighting that useless battle. Smucker has the right idea – find something that works for your organization and maximizes both work styles.