How Bright Is The Future of Remote Working?

TrendingJune 29, 2021

From a boring black and white desk-and-chair setup to a comfy recliner where you could rest your feet and enjoy your favorite coffee while leisurely tip-tapping on your laptop, the pandemic turned the entire working dynamic upside down. While WFH was a bane for the wandering souls who’d take any excuse to step out of home, for most people, it was a welcomed change.

Andrew Neel/Unsplash | Just when people were getting comfortable with WFH, leading companies are initiating “back to office” drives

But just when everyone was getting used to attending video meetings in pajamas, the news around companies ditching the remote working culture came as a slap in employee’s faces. Guess the vaccinations turned out to be too effective too soon!

Over the past few months, major tech companies have been announcing that they’re ready to get back to the old normal. That means no more turning off the camera to munch on snacks during meetings, and no more power naps on the sofa during work hours.

Wondering what happened to the virtues of flexible and hybrid working? Well friend, guess it was just a dream that didn’t come true (*sniff).

Tech companies’ stand on remote working

Until last year, big firms like Google, Twitter, Amazon, and Facebook supported the WFH setting with all their heart. But recently, they started calling their employees back to offices.

Brett Jordan/Unsplash | Tech giants like Google, Twitter, Amazon, and Facebook are leading the movement to bring employees back to work

Google’s brand new Global People Operations Lead, Fiona Cicconi, wrote to employees that soon the company will be introducing a new timetable for working in offices. Twitter’s CEO, Jack Dorsey, also said something similar. When he declared that employees could work from home forever, people were on cloud nine, but it didn’t take long for them to come to their senses after Dorsey updated his statement. The new declaration stated that if employees’ job positions or situations allowed them to WFH, they could do it. Later, Twitter again improvised the statement saying employees could spend most of their time working from home, but occasionally, they’ll have to visit offices.

When everyone was calling back employees, how could Amazon stay behind? The e-commerce giant stated it was planning to return to an office-centric culture. Vice President of Facebook’s Global Business Group, Carolyn Everson, also hoped for the same.

What others believe

Prithwiraj Choudhury, a Harvard Business School professor, says companies who adopt a flexible working model are likely to succeed more than other companies. Confirming his thoughts, Spotify stated in its latest statement that its employees could choose any working style they prefer. They could work from the office or from home or do both. The company even assured it would make the needed arrangements for employees who choose to work from the office and home both.

sgcdesignco/Unsplash | Even so, companies like Spotify and IBM are in favor of devising strategies that suit the employees the most

IBM too tried to follow the same policy, but it had a different approach. The tech company stated that 80% of its workforce would have to come to offices at least three days a week. CEO Arvind Krishna said he was concerned about people working remotely. He continued that people operating from home won’t be able to hone leadership and teamwork skills.

Bottom Line

If you ask us, we say companies should always go for what’s best for their employees. As for whether things will get back to the old normal, we’re still not sure. Only time will tell what big firms decide in the future, and we’re hoping that they’ll do something beneficial for the workforce.