While working from home existed way before the COVID-19 pandemic, it is fair to say that the pandemic truly brought this concept to the limelight. Many organizations worldwide were forced to adopt this strategy to keep things rolling amid all the challenges the pandemic brought forth. That said, even in the times preceding the pandemic, a silent storm was brewing in many workspaces, with many employees seeking a rationale for the daily commute to their workstations when they could be more productive from their home workspaces.
As the pandemic slowly withers away, the dichotomy between remote work and returning to the office has increasingly come under question. As we navigate through this shift, many organizations, like Verde Casino (https://verdecasino.com/ca), find themselves at the crossroads of this paradigm shift.
Is the Hybrid Work Bubble Under Threat?
In a household pulse survey conducted from September 20th to October 2nd, 2023, the U.S. Census Bureau found that the number of American workers working from home had dramatically shot down from the highs that had been seen at the peak of the pandemic. During this peak, it was estimated that roughly 37% of the American workforce worked from home. While it was expected that that percentage would eventually drop after the pandemic, the sharp drop casts a huge cloud of doubt on the many predictions that the hybrid work culture was undoubtedly the future.
While the lasting impact of the pandemic meant that remote work moved from being a perk to a necessity, many organizations are returning to the norm. Organizations like JP Morgan, Disney, Amazon, and BlackRock have all called on their employees to return to their offices either fully or part-time. While the move has expectedly received some pushback, most notably from Amazon employees, it leaves a lot to ponder for the likes of Verde Casino, which also implemented a hybrid work system.
Arguments for the Hybrid Work Model
At the height of the pandemic, with the majority of the world having to restructure its workplace model, the hybrid model was extensively put to the test, bringing forth a couple of fundamental perks:
● Increased Productivity – The hybrid setup allowed employees to work in a refreshed work environment, which gave them room to produce fresh ideas that probably wouldn’t have sufficed in tense office environments.
● It also provided a greater work-life balance dynamic, which contributed significantly to the mental and physical well-being of workers across the world.
● Building better workplace collaboration systems – Implementing a hybrid work culture has fostered communication across teams, with collaboration platforms like Google Chat and Microsft’s Teams Chats being used. According to Microsoft, time spent on Teams Chats from February 2020 has shot up 45%, and the weekly meeting times have increased by a staggering 148% over the same time.
● As the pandemic showed, workers are less likely to contract illnesses at home. The risk of spreading illnesses decreases with fewer employees at the workplace.
Rationalizing Return to the Office Directives
While the return-to-office directives have been met with fierce criticism by many in the existing workforce, let’s try to play the devil’s advocate and rationalize these moves, particularly from the organizational perspective. For starters, for some organizations where direct client engagement is an essential facet of operations, a physical presence in the office space is absolutely needed.
Also, some industries have certain aspects of their operations that are better controlled in closed office spaces. For example, its online security operations are better suited to a controlled and closed environment.
While several studies have shown that hybrid working has indeed improved productivity across many organizations, many leaders in these organizations simply aren’t willing to compromise on productivity. Particularly in these harsh economic times, the stakes are simply too high for many industry leaders to leave the productivity aspects of their businesses to chance.
It remains to be seen how the working force perceives these directives. Will there be a pushback that will see the management teams ease up on the directives, or will the work-from-home dream scenario dwindle into oblivion? Will more people resign from their jobs in search of roles that embrace hybrid workstyles?
Finding a Balance
Ultimately, the future points to a scenario where these two working environments must co-exist. The pandemic showed us that, indeed, a remote workplace scenario can work and can be productive if organizations build the right structures to support such a culture. However, the predictions that working from the office will be a past concept may have just jumped the gun. Still, office work remains a fundamental work culture experience that isn’t going away. It is the prerogative of the organizations to establish systems that support both working from home and at the office to ensure the smooth operation of workspaces.
Our super author here at Famous Parenting and an absolute wealth of knowledge. She has studied many topics including creative writing, psychology and journalism but her real passion lies in raising her 3 children. Between working from home, homeschooling her youngest 2 children and navigating the world of teenagers she is a guru for parents.
