A major effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy and education system was to shift to remote interactions, with offices and schools shutting down for health and safety reasons. A recent poll by Gallup indicates that 72% of white collar workers are working from home. When asked by Gallup, 35% say they would like to continue working from home, while 17% want to return to the office environment. A similar poll by Pew Research last December found similar sentiments, but even more support for continued working at home (54%) even after the pandemic is history.
Alternatively, CEOs and business owners, wanting to keep a closer eye on their employees, largely favor return to the office environment. With schools opening for summer and fall sessions, parents may be more inclined to re-enter their offices, despite the hassles of commuting, etc. Los Angeles writer Tracy Moore gives her take in the WaPo, and she clearly prefers the remote mode:
"A poll by the Best Practice Institute and reported in Newsweek found that some 83 percent of CEOs want employees back full-time, while only 10 percent of workers want back in. A seismic standoff is building. 'There is a belief in our culture that we’ve proven that most jobs can be done virtually,' Melissa Swift of consulting firm Korn Ferry told Newsweek. 'But that’s not the belief within the leadership of organizations, so we’re headed for a real clash.'
Certainly some people are thrilled to squeeze into hard pants and rejoin the thrum of the office. But for many, going back to working for the weekend is the nightmare. Who, exactly, is thirsting to wake up earlier to slog through their commute? Who’s excited about team-building exercises, long hours and impromptu meetings? Who could possibly be jazzed about sharing colds (to say nothing of, still, the coronavirus), wrangling child care or promising to work late because you had the gall to schedule a doctor’s appointment?" (our emphasis)
Businesses have billions if not trillions of dollars invested in office space and property that was largely vacant over the past 14 months, space that they'd like to see utilized again. But the shifting workplace dynamic, particularly for the white collar workforce brought on by a deadly pandemic, could indeed produce a big management - employee "clash" in the coming months and even years. It's safe to predict that employee-accomodating companies will succeed and thrive during that clash.
(photo: Getty Images)
