Marvel FMCG - Certified B Corporation® reposted this
‘It’s 5 days in the office or you need to explore options’ WTF. Imagine being told that by your employer in this day and age, unfortunately this is what one of my contacts was recently advised. Hired post pandemic and then ways of working flipped on its head. As a company if you have this mentality you are making it extremely difficult for your employees who are: Working parents Neurodiverse Looking work/life balance Don’t live in a 25 mile radius Carers Struggling with travel costs Looking for a healthier life More productive with flexibility The company also waxes lyrical about their ED & I strategy and how they put people first. Yikes. There is no issue if you want to go in 5 days, thats a choice. However some dont have that choice. Balance is key and is also the future. Cheers 🫡
It's shortsighted and archaic thinking. If your employees work remotely and they do not do their work, you have a management issue not a remote working issue. If your remote employees are working in a way that puts your company in breach of international or tax laws, you once again, have a management issue. Remote working is not to blame for management inefficiencies and incompetence. Remote working is better for the environment, better for surrounding economies away from the main centres, better for the employee's own personal economy and better, possibly most importantly, for the mental health of those who do like to work remotely.
I still don’t understand this conversation. I get it if you want to work remotely. Get a job that offers it or open your own business. If an employer wants their team to work in office why is that a problem. Seems a little narcissistic.
There are situations where being in a physical location to do a role is a must, but where it is just because you've got expensive real-estate, or like to see people doing things it doesn't get the best out of your people. However, having a more flexible culture does mean you have to change ways of wider in a wider context. For example, running a meeting - don't have people who are in the office pile into a large conference room and then dial others into meeting. Most of the time those not in the room can't engage properly and depending upon you equipment might not hear anything at all. Be prepared to change more than just where you work, change how you work.
Comments here have correctly reminded us that not every role or type of work is able to support remote or hybrid working. In most cases, where physical activity at a location, or direct interation, is required. Too many roles to list but medical professionals (though some tele-medical works), construction, teaching (children), shop workers etc etc. Lets put that aside for the moment, and focus on roles that are easily doable and elsewhere acceptable to do remotely - an indeed was proven over the past few years in particular... Now then, where are all the business leaders, founders, chair-persons, CEOs going in hard to convince us here that in-office is better? It's funny how there is so much talk of the preference/option to work remote or hybrid (and hybrid is not 4 days in the office, 1 day from elsewhere!), but the advocates of in-office are always mysteriously absent!
Being treated as a capable adult and giving choices is vital. By taking away control from people, you take away their happiness (scientifically proven). How good are unhappy employees? They are demotivated, passive, not creative, nor in a place to empower and support others....
before covid, everyone mostly worked from the office/place of work. It was a complete luxury to have anytime from home at all in most cases. Yes, they had childcare issues the same before covid and I agree, it is very tough. Its great, that for those companies to have hybrid working can support those who find it easier and can work to the same standard as they would in the office. This is absolutely not the case for all clients, in all areas (and I am not talking about shops here - they need to be onsite how else could this operate) and not all employees do work as well away from the office environment and without their team around them. I have worked for myself for 25 years as I wanted the choice and flexibility and was willing to take the chance that self employment also brings to have the choices you speak of above. It is all a choice - not a right.
In uk it’s flexible work by law from day one now fyi.
I accepted a role on the proviso that after I was trained I could do few days from home. The journey took an hour of driving each way if traffic was good. After 3 months was told they would prefer me in the office 5 days after all. Had to leave as the drive was too much emotionally and financially.
Marketing at Baby Central - Official UK Distributors of Dr Brown's and WonderFold Wagons 👶
1moBalance is key, but it's only applicable to office-based roles. Parents that work in shops or factories don't have the luxury of choice. It's starting to become a little classist this narrative that WFH is a right, not a privilege.