Surprising observation on Trends regarding Remote Working
Not a day goes by that I do not hear from a candidate who will not consider relocation, but is enthusiastic about a “work from home” position.
In a world in which so much can be accomplished over the phone, and through email…why not?
I’ll tell you why not:
Because although it may make all the sense in the world to employees, we are finding that the vast majority of our clients do not like it. And not only are we not trending towards more remote employment, I am anecdotally seeing the opposite trend: Employers that were supporting remote employees are now taking that option away!
Yes; companies that were allowing their employees to work from home are now requiring a daily presence in the office.
Why is this? I can only speculate. Employers must know that this news is upsetting to employees who have structured their lives around a work from home agreement. I cannot imagine they are cavalier about rescinding this flexibility. Plus, one would imagine that it is actually more expensive for the employer to have to rent office space large enough for all of their employees. Additionally, utilizing remote employees vastly increases the pool of available talent – companies are no longer limited to hiring only those candidates who happen to live within a 30 mile commuting radius of their office. So they must be pretty convinced that taking away this employee perq is important and necessary.
Employees love it because they can avoid lengthy & expensive commutes; they can knock off a few household chores during their lunchtime; it affords flexibility to be home with a sick child, or “run out” for after school commitments. They say they actually get more work accomplished, because they often begin the day when their commute would have started…and pick up again after dinner. But somehow, many employers often don’t see it that way.
Are there some employees that do their best work from home? That flourish in the quiet, free from interruptions from coworkers…free from office politics. Absolutely! Of this I am certain.
Do most employees struggle to find the discipline to stay on-task at home? Well…when I worked in corporate America I saw quite a difference in employee performance when the boss was out of the office. So I’m going to say yes. You may be appalled. “We are grownups! Employees do not need a babysitter. Don’t be a dinosaur.”
Perhaps I’m wrong. But if employers were finding that productivity and expenses decrease when their people work remotely, I do not think this removal of telecommuting privileges would be trending. Just reporting the news as I see it. Please don’t shoot the messenger.
Your thoughts?
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