No, Everybody Doesn't Miss Going to the Office

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Many companies have begun returning to the office if not in a full-time capacity, in a voluntary, or a part-time capacity. During a lot of these announcements the leadership of these companies makes statements like "Our company culture needs in-person interaction",  "Everyone is telling me they can't wait to see their coworkers in person." or "Collaboration is who we are and we need to be in-person for that to work.". Each time I read or hear about one of these announcements, I can't help but think this is a misrepresentation of what many of the employees in that company feel.

How can I say that? There have been multiple studies done on how employees feel about returning to the workplace. The evidence is overwhelming that employees want the flexibility to choose their workplace. For example, WeWork did a survey to ask 2,000 corporate employees some different questions about whether and how they wanted to return to the office. The messaging was clear that the employees wanted the flexibility to choose how they would work. In fact, of those employees surveyed, 75% said that they would be willing to give up at least one benefit to be able to maintain flexibility and control over their work environment. 

Read: Study - 75% of Employees Would Give Up Benefits to Work Remotely

That study went on to identify how many days per week employees wanted to work remotely. 50% want to work remotely more often than in the office. 31% want to only come in a maximum of 1 day per week and 20% said they don't see the need to ever return. These employees have become accustomed to the way of life that is afforded to working remotely. Working from their own home means they don't need to get ready and do a 30 minute to hour or longer commute in some cases. Most employees turn this time back into work time and increase their productivity. Additionally, in a study by McKinsey, 30% of employees said they would look for another job if their company required them to return to the office? 

Read: It's Clear. Companies Need to Communicate Post Pandemic Plans Now

Recently Apple announced that they would be returning to the office later this year. The CEO, Tim Cook, told employees that they would be returning to the office in September. He said that "The truth is that there has been something essential missing from this past year: each other." They said that employees would be able to work remotely up to 2 days per week and possibly 2 weeks per year if their manager approves. A few days later a group of several thousand Apple employees sent a letter to the CEO advocating for a continued remote work environment. 

Here is what they said:

"Over the last year we often felt not just unheard, but at times actively ignored. Messages like, we know many of you are eager to reconnect in person with your colleagues back in the office; with no messaging acknowledging that there are directly contradictory feelings amongst us feels dismissing and invalidating."

Does that sound like the employees can't wait to return to the office? Does that sound like the folks on the frontline doing the actual work that drives the company forward feel that they are missing something by not being there physically in person?  No, obviously not. So that leads to the next question; Where is this messaging coming from?

In every group of people, you have both Extroverts and Introverts. Extroverts feel excited and energized to be around other people and greatly prefer that kind of environment. Introverts are the opposite, they feel stressed out and exhausted by the same interactions. They prefer to work alone without the distractions of other people. A study by the Myers-Briggs organization in 1998 showed that roughly half of the population are extroverts and half are introverts. 

Extroverts are likely to be more outgoing, share their opinions and potentially climb higher in organizations that reward outspoken people. As a result, the decisions at these companies may be made by folks that prefer a way of working and are making the assumption that this is at most people want. Based on the studies we talked about we know that this is not the case. In fact, even many extroverts would prefer not to return to the office when we see more than half of employees would prefer to work mostly remotely.

Should these companies, then be returning to the office? Perhaps. The type of work done by the employees and organizations may be the kind that requires in-office work. However, they should also look at the productivity that has occurred in the last year and ask themselves honestly, if it turns out that their teams were just as productive or more productive working in a remote office. Do they risk a decline in productivity, lower employee morale, and potentially employees leaving for companies with more competitive remote work policies?  Yes, they do. 

The most important question the leadership at these companies should ask is why they're making these decisions. Are they doing this because it's what most of their employees want and what is creating the best, most productive work environment, or is it because they miss working in the office and want everyone else to return so they can enjoy the return to the office?

What do you think about returning to the office? Are you excited by the return or do you want to continue to work from wherever makes sense for you? Tell me below!