Broken Work-from-Home Policies Are Damaging Businesses

When the pandemic started, many (if not most) businesses adopted a work-from-home model where the business operations were maintained by employees who did not necessarily have to come into the office. Did this create a “genie back in the bottle” situation or did this mask corporate rigidity by virtue of a translucent veil of compassion?

Now that the vaccination rate is increasing and some restrictions have been eased, is it right to mandate a return to the office for everyone?

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Lowell found that many workers feel the answer to that question is an unequivocal “No”. As employers begin require that workers cease working from home, many employees are feeling double-crossed or burned.

Many workers relocated during the pandemic, enjoying their new found freedom to work at their jobs while being hundreds of miles away. This was, in part, due to “the explicit or implicit expectation of some degree of ongoing remote work among many of the workers who moved during the pandemic.” When employers flip that script, employees feel burned. One “worker indicated the promise to work remotely was only implicit, but he still had his hopes up when leaders ‘gassed us up for months saying we’d likely be able to keep working from home and come in occasionally’ and then changed their minds and demanded employees return to the office once vaccinated.”

Other employees were befuddled by ill-conceived or badly implemented remote work policies. Many employees feel that their employers were not giving “meaningful explanations” about the policies and the motivations behind them. One worker noted “Our leadership felt people weren’t as productive at home. While as a company we’ve hit most of our goals for the year. … Makes no sense.”

Lastly, some employers beat the drum of corporate culture. Employers tend to feel that workers need to be in the office in order to have a strong corporate culture, failing to recognize that corporate culture really emanates from how people respect and treat each other — which can easily occur in work-from-home situations. “Surveys have found that what workers want most from management, on the issue of corporate culture, are more remote-work resources, updated policies on flexibility and more communication from leadership.”

Employers need to think through these issues carefully and with compassion. These decisions are not easy to make but with the proper analysis, they can benefit everyone involved.

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