After the pandemic, everyone's perception of the office has changed. Some company CEOs used to be obsessed with employee attendance, but now they have let go of their obsession. Bosses who prefer face-to-face communication are no longer obsessed with crowded elevators and conference rooms.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and its parent company Alphabet, said: "I do miss the days when I was in a meeting and if I had an idea, I could just stand up and write it down on the whiteboard. Look."
Employers across the United States are facing the following questions: When, how, or whether to bring employees back to work? In response to these issues, company leaders from all walks of life exchanged some ideas. These top decision makers eventually came to a consensus that there was no consensus on the solutions to these problems.
CEOs of many companies are trying to strike a balance between adjusting their expectations to the situation and trying to control the way their companies operate. They are constantly changing company policies based on employee demands and are starting to revisit some management details that may have been overlooked before.
Tim Ryan, head of the US practice of PwC, the accounting and consulting firm has announced that its US employees can work remotely permanently. Ryan said: "The company has continuously adjusted its management model during the epidemic. We have learned that some employees are not satisfied with the current flexible office model, and they also want to fully realize virtual office."
In Chicago, the two are more than one kilometer apart. of companies have very different management styles and priorities.
One of those companies is Upwork, a technology company that provides job opportunities for freelancers, welcoming employees back to work in late summer 2021, with its downtown office revived after more than a year. However, a few weeks later, the company's CEO, Hayden Brown, decided to close the building again, considering that the delta strain continued to spread.
Another company, Harrison Street, a few blocks away, returned to brick-and-mortar a few months ago. This is a private real estate investment company with $40 billion in assets under management. It will allow employees to return to work voluntarily in 2020, and will recall all employees after Labor Day in 2021, requiring a five-day work week.
Co-founder and CEO Chris Merrill said: "We have always been careful about the responsibilities we have and the assets we manage. There's no question that we're better off when we all work together. "
Many factors are affecting a major restructuring of office staff and office life. In the past year and a half, companies have been able to work online at home, and they have become accustomed to this new flexible office model. Companies are also reassessing the needs and costs of large offices, especially in sectors where business remains strong and markets remain active, and they are not affected by the reduction in staffing.
As of the summer of 2021, PwC had taken several steps to take care of its 40,000 U.S. employees dealing with clients who have been working remotely for more than a year. The company cut the number of meetings by 25% and banned video conferences on Fridays, allowing employees to leave work at noon that day to enjoy the weekend early.
Then in early October, PwC announced that employees could choose to work remotely permanently, giving them two weeks to consider. Whether they choose to work across cities or telecommute, employees need not worry about losing their jobs, although work arrangements may change. Ryan believes other companies will make the same shift in the coming months or years.
Kate Spade, a fashion brand under the Tapestry Group, announced its new CEO Liz Fraser on March 2, 2020. Less than two weeks later, most of the world is in lockdown. Since taking office, Fraser has worked hard to maintain the business while actively building relationships with new colleagues. She admitted, "The hardest part is that after working for more than half a year, I still don't know anyone."
After countless video conferences, she finally felt like she knew most of her close colleagues. Still, she recently worked from her Brooklyn home and celebrated Halloween with colleagues on a video conference, while her midtown Manhattan office was nearly empty.
Kate Spade's employees seem to prefer working from home, so there's no rush to get back to the office. Fraser said: "We basically meet everyone's needs and try to be flexible. We need to start from a professional and personal perspective to consider everyone's needs during this special period."
Upwork is the same, employees are helping the company. Make policies and decide the future of office life for everyone. "I think employees do have more power now, and companies are more willing than ever to listen to their employees, probably because the competition for talent is the most intense right now," said Brown.
IBM was known for its serious office culture in the 20th century . , male employees need suits and leather shoes every day. But today, they also basically allow employees to decide how and when they work.
IBM CEO Arvind Krishna (Arvi nd Krishna) said that as long as employees work efficiently, whether they go to work at 5:00 in the morning, get off at 3:00 in the afternoon, or go to work at 11:00 in the morning and leave at 9:00 in the evening, he will Don't care anymore.
It's a stark change that corporate America now has broad respect for employees. According to the Pew Research Center, U.S. workers have been working an average of a full month more each year for decades than they did in 1980. At the same time, however, labor compensation growth has not kept pace with productivity growth. It is not difficult to understand why everyone now hopes to continue to work from home and retain a certain degree of independence.
Andi Owen, CEO of MillerKnoll, which makes Aeron chairs and other office furniture, has not asked all employees to return to full-time work. "What should the office environment of the future look like? It's a matter of listening to employees, not a group of executives," Owen said.
The performance of Upwork employees allowed Brown to close the Chicago office again without hesitation, as well as permanently closing the company’s former Silicon Valley headquarters early in the pandemic. “We’re just listening to our employees, and everyone is saying that telecommuting works well,” she said. Upwork reopened its Chicago office in December to make it easier for employees who want to work in a brick-and-mortar office.
For Harrison Street's Merrill, romanticizing telecommuting doesn't make sense. He believes: "Working in an office is meaningful. It's very important for young people to come together. There, people can learn from each other, grow and create upward mobility together."
Merrill said that if she worked from home from the beginning of her career, she would lose the opportunity to gain experience in starting a successful business.
Pichai said some Google employees have voluntarily returned to the company, but most are still working remotely. They remain productive, but working together with limited face-to-face interaction for so long, some colleagues have grown rusty. "Working with memories of relationships and connections is not a long-term solution," he said. "It's taking its toll."
Google is planning to remodel several offices as it prepares to bring more employees back to the office this year. IBM also expects more employees to return to the office to work together in the future. "For creative and decision-making jobs, it's easier and more efficient to work together when you're together," says Krishna.
MillerK noll CEO Owen warns that employees who are reluctant to return to the office may find themselves Being isolated and disadvantaged, face-to-face communication is easier after all. For Harrison Street's Merrill, ZOOM simply cannot replace working with colleagues and partners. "The key is to form human interaction so that you can resonate with others. On ZOOM, you can't do all of this," he said.
Many employees are still working from home and enjoying new ways of working with their employers, but in some ways Americans are working harder than ever. Last fall, one-third of workers said they were working longer hours than they did before the pandemic, according to the Pew Research Center, especially for those who are used to commuting. The time many people spend driving or using public transportation is now factored into their work time.
For parents, they are also grappling with having children present while working from home. Forty percent of working mothers say balancing work and family responsibilities has become more difficult. Especially for young employees, it can be difficult to stay focused and productive while working from home, despite high expectations.
The lines between work and life are blurring, leading to heightened employee dissatisfaction — which may be one reason for the current wave of quits in the job market. A record 4.3 million Americans quit their jobs in August 2021. But for corporate people, the state of remote work may continue for at least two years. It's possible to work anytime, anywhere with your smartphone, Slack, email and ZOOM.
At PwC, many employees may be working from home indefinitely in the future. CEO Ryan wants to create an environment where remote work is as good as a centralized office. He asked: "There is always a prejudice against telecommuting, but what if it can have a positive impact?"
Fraser, CEO of Kate Spade, also hopes that even if key employees live thousands of miles away, telecommuting can be done in the future. . She said: "I don't even care where my employees live, as long as I have the flexibility to come to New York when the need arises. The employees can live anywhere."
For the future, whether all employees work remotely or return to the office, or two It's both, and it's clear that the way many people work will change: some employees will only be in the office a few days a week, others won't show up at all, and their managers may live in in another state. In the eyes of many CEOs, these arrangements are actually good.
"Many executives still cling to the old law, believing that's the norm," said Irwin, CEO of MillerKnoll. "But the world is evolving, society is changing, and our self-perception should evolve with the times."
