Are we headed for a reckoning over remote work?
After the pandemic forced offices to close, millions of people converted homes and apartments into workspaces and helped keep their companies afloat. Many want to continue working remotely, and employers have talked about adopting hybrid models.
But there’s a big disconnect.
While most employees believe remote work is beneficial and increases performance, most managers have a negative view.
In a July survey of 817 supervisors, nearly three-quarters said they’d prefer all subordinates work in the office. A good share, 42%, sometimes forget about remote workers when assigning tasks.
Perhaps the most disturbing finding: Two-thirds of supervisors said they considered remote employees “more easily replaceable” than onsite workers.
“That scares me for those who work remotely,” said Liz Petersen, quality manager for the HR Knowledge Center at the Society of Human Resources Management, which conducted the survey. “The biggest concern is it depends on your industry, company, culture and management — as well as employees. Remote work is not going to be for everyone.”
Remote work has become so popular that most would take a pay cut to keep it. Nearly 30% would switch jobs if they were forced to come in full time, according to a survey by McKinsey & Co.
Yet some employers insist it’s vital to get together in person — to collaborate, develop skills, create a sense of belonging, network and mentor.
McKinsey warned of this disconnect in a July report titled “It’s time for leaders to get real about hybrid.”
Companies want to bring workers back to the office in large numbers, but employees are resisting, and that could drive people away.
“Employers must confront the broadening disconnect between how they and their employees see the future,” the McKinsey report said. “At best, the rosy messaging of a grand return to the office is falling flat.”
The path forward starts with acknowledging it will take time to figure this out, said Mihir Mysore, co-author of the report and partner in McKinsey’s Houston office. It’s difficult, he said, to disentangle conflicting messages from employees.
They often complain about not being able to unplug from the job and keep personal lives separate, which suggests remote work is causing burnout. They also say they don’t want to return to the office because of the mental stress, which suggests they want to keep working from home.
“What we suspect is happening is that different segments of the employee population are sending out different kinds of messages,” Mysore said.
Veteran workers with family obligations may have established stronger connections with their kids and spouses while working at home. Many also developed other good habits during the pandemic.
They “find it very difficult to let go of that, because they’re secure in their city, secure in their network and secure in their net worth,” Mysore said.
But many younger workers are eager to gain experience and develop deeper relationships.
