WFH: Not so flexible after all
Will hybrid work actually demand more leadership control?
The question was raised in an article in the Harvard Business Review, by Nicholas Bloom of Stanford University, based on surveying 30,000 American employees.
It found that:
32% never want to go back to the office, often because they have kids, hate their commute, or just like their own homes
21% never want to work at home again, often because they live in cities, without dependents, and quite enjoy the buzz of the office
The rest want hybrid
He argues that leaving workers to decide when they go in will lead to ‘in’ groups—those seen as more committed/promotable—and those who are ‘out’.
He foresees a future of lawsuits, when those who don’t come in as often, don’t get promotions or pay rises (femalegraduates with children are 50% more likely to want to work from home than men). This follows the patterns we saw around flexible work.
There is also a risk that groups who rarely go in will lose touch—I mean, who will explain the phenomenon that is Charli D’Amelio when they’re processing spreadsheets in their country kitchens?
The Hawaiian shirt paradox
A leader I interviewed recently compared hybrid to the headache of introducing ‘Dress Down Friday’. Having never given much thought to who wore what, he was appalled to find himself arbitrating rows over the definition of ‘jeans’, ‘trainers’,and ‘flip-flops’, as if he’d become a steward at the Royal Enclosure.
Will the next phase of leadership involve settling rows about which team has to come in on Mondays or Fridays and how many extra office days new hires need to do to settle in? Or notifying people that they’re not allowed into the building five days a week, however desperate they are?
Having run a hybrid agency model for years, I think Bloom is right: there was a clear correlation between being in the office and involvement in the best projects.
What do you think? I’m quite keen for you to prove us wrong here…
Next week:
Why being likeable may be costing you dearly.
Christine
