Is WFH a Thing of the Past? Not So Fast!
Heidi Gardner as the “Co-Worker Who’s Extremely Busy Doing Seemingly Nothing” on the 4/8/23 Weekend Update Edition of SNL
When a topic makes it to Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update, you know it’s in the popular zeitgeist. Take going back to the office post-pandemic. SNL’s sketch parodies a disheveled worker who’s developed obvious bad habits from working from home (WFH) that comically crafts a case for why employers want workers back in the office.
In Tuesday’s NYT, Opinion writer Peter Coy argues that despite the belief that the WFH is coming to an end, this working arrangement is here to stay. In “R.I.P. W.F.H.? Not So Fast” Mr. Coy checks in on the “tug of war between employers and employees” where WFH and RTO (Returning To Office) are concerned. It appears that the share of days that are worked from home is leveling off at around 30%. So at least for now, it’s a “both-and”, what’s known as “hybrid work”.
Being us, we think about what this means for leaders in organizations where hybrid work is the new normal. We’d like to share a few tips we picked up from our clients and colleagues:
Embrace Hybrid Work: Leaders open to implementing and fine-tuning hybrid work models balance the benefits of remote work with the need for in-person collaboration to maximize productivity and positivity.
Invest In Technology: Leaders who invest in appropriate tools and technology to ensure seamless communication and collaboration for remote work are ahead of the game - especially with digital natives coming up through the ranks.
Focus on Employee Well-Being: Offering flexible work options can improve employee satisfaction, leading to increased productivity and retention rates. This is more than an industry trend, it ensures having a sustainable workforce in this era of talent shortages.
Rethink Traditional Workplace Norms: Leaders who are open to re-evaluating conventional work practices are reshaping corporate culture for the next generation of workers. This includes re-thinking performance evaluations, working sessions, and team-building initiatives that include more remote employees.
Develop Remote Leadership Skills: Leading remotely is not new. What’s different is the emphasis Millennials and Gen-Z’ers place on autonomy, flexibility, and a sense of community. This requires developing and practicing skills we used to think of as “soft” - empathy, trust, communication, etc. Turns out these are actually the “hard” skills and are now table stakes for hybrid work and sustainable workforces.
It’s an exciting time to be a leader; there are certainly no dull moments as we adjust and tweak, making mistakes and learning as we go. We encourage you to practice self-compassion - cut yourself a little slack - along the way. It may take years to get hybrid work just right, if we’re ever meant to at all.
