When most couples split up, sleep in separate bedrooms or spend time apart and then decide to get back together, they might go to couple\u2019s counseling or air their grievances in a backstreet coffee shop as a last-ditch effort to repair a once fruitful and happy relationship.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Successful conscious re-couplings typically have one thing in common: Both sides need to change. After all, a professional relationship \u2014 just like a personal relationships \u2014 is a two-way street. So why has this not been part of the contentious debate on the return of remote workers to the office? <\/p>\n
How did it all go so wrong? What\u2019s missing from this picture? How did what started as a \u201cperk\u201d and a safety measure \u2014 that was not afforded to millions of service workers during the pandemic \u2014 turn into such a PR disaster for companies and an employee-management standoff?<\/p>\n
\n \u201c<\/span>Aren\u2019t all relationships, professional and personal, a two-way street? Don\u2019t both parties need to change?\u201d<\/span>\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n In a relationship when separated couples get back together, they put a concerted effort into both parties\u2019 actions, said Tessa West, a New York University social psychology professor with an interest in workplace behavior, and author of \u201cJerks at Work: Toxic Coworkers and What to Do About Them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Companies need to communicate what\u2019s at stake for both the employee and<\/em> the employer, she said. \u201cThey aren\u2019t going to grow at work, develop new skills, network in a way that will improve the chances that they can get promoted and climb up, [unless they] feel invigorated at work,\u201d West added. <\/p>\n Before the pandemic, we were often mired in the minutiae of everyday office life \u2014 just like we are in domestic relationships: The photocopier is jammed. The printer is printing out paper on another floor. Someone borrowed my iPhone charger, and didn\u2019t bring it back. You\u2019re on mute.\u00a0 That\u2019s all changed. Bigger cracks have appeared.<\/p>\n Is it possible times were simpler before and during COVID-19, a virus that turned the world upside down, and sent office workers home? Alphabet Inc.\u2019s GOOG, There\u2019s now a rallying cry by companies to get back to those water-cooler moments, intra-silo chit-chats and face-to-face meetings during which ideas are born. That\u2019s the theory anyway. There\u2019s just one problem. It ain\u2019t going so well, if recent attempts by major U.S. companies are anything to go by. <\/p>\n Nicholas Bloom, an economics professor at Stanford University and prominent remote-work researcher, said employers have a dilemma on their hands: How do they win over employees? He agrees that company-employee relationships are a two-way street. \u201cFirms with bad culture should try to fix it first,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hybrid work needs everyone on board, he said. \u201cIndeed, culture is generally better when folks come to work on a few high-energy days and on the same days,\u201d Bloom told MarketWatch. \u201cComing into a half-filled office is not great, and if anything, it is more likely to lead to cliques in some quiet side room.\u201d<\/p>\n Google is the latest to crack down on remote workers, recently calling on hybrid-work employees who are required to go into the office three days a week to do just that, and keep up their end of the bargain. Chief People Officer Fiona Cicconi outlined her stance in a company memo.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re on a hybrid schedule, you should be coming into the office regularly \u2014 3 days per week for most Googlers,\u201d according to Wednesday\u2019s memo, which was reviewed by MarketWatch. The company said it will track I.D. badges, and consider action against very absent employees if they are chronically shaking off the office.<\/p>\n Last month, hundreds of workers at Amazon\u00a0staged a lunchtime walkout\u00a0in protest of the company\u2019s policies, including a three-day in-office work requirement. A company spokesman told MarketWatch it would take time for people to readjust to a greater office presence but that more collaboration happens in person.<\/p>\n Others are taking a gentler approach: From June 12 to June 23, Salesforce Martha Stewart, meanwhile, recently said remote workers would cause America to \u201cgo down the drain\u201d and likened not going back to the office as \u201cnot going back to work.\u201d Those working from home are presumably padding around in their slippers. (Coincidentally or not, she gave that interview to Footwear News, a trade publication.)<\/p>\n \n \u201c<\/span>Is it possible times were simpler before and during COVID-19, a virus that turned the world upside down, and sent office workers home?\u201d<\/span>\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Some might say it\u2019s a bit rich for a multimillionaire who does not have to commute to work five days a week, and sit at a desk for eight hours a day, to tell others to do just that, while others may contend that Stewart is where she is today because she showed up to the office in person.<\/p>\n Bloom sees her point. But he also suggested the push-and-pull to get employees back to the office is a three-way street, if not a spaghetti junction. Employees who turn up in person and sit under those harsh lights for eight hours could be doing a lot of the heavy lifting for the remote workers, he said.<\/p>\n He believes hybrid work represents companies and employees taking the high road. \u201cYou pay top-market rates for top-talent, and to keep them productive you have them hybrid in the office typically Tuesday to Thursday for mentoring, innovation, building culture etc.,\u201d Bloom said.<\/p>\n And the low road? \u201cClosing all offices and letting employees work anywhere, including possibly abroad,\u201d Bloom said. In this scenario, he added, it\u2019s an unequal relationship. \u201cUnder this you save, maybe, 20% of costs by having no space, possibly another 20% to 50% on labor costs, but take a big hit on productivity.\u201d<\/p>\n West said, just like with a family, employees representing all levels of seniority and different teams need to work together. \u201cOffices full of people who are all at one level of the hierarchy don\u2019t have the vibe people need,\u201d she said. \u201cYou need to be able to network up and over, and with people outside of your team, across different parts of the organization.\u201d<\/p>\n Sudden U-turns in agreements are not popular at home or at the office. Farmers Insurance Group told employees that they could work remotely. Some staff members bought houses, but that soft approach changed when Raul Vargas took over as CEO of Farmers Group, and effectively called them back by September.<\/p>\n In a piece outlining a \u201crevolt\u201d by employees, The Wall Street Journal quoted one worker\u2019s response: \u201cI sold my house and moved closer to my grandkids. So sad that I made a huge financial decision based on a lie.\u201d The company said the move will impact approximately 60% of Farmers\u2019s workforce.<\/p>\n What was once a delicate dance between manager and employee has turned into a slew of ultimatums. What are their employees returning to, and what are they resisting? They may miss certain things about office life \u2014 brainstorming at lunch and friendly banter. But perhaps there are other things they don\u2019t miss.<\/p>\n Employees have a lot to lose too, West said. \u201cBut without careful attention to these costs, and a plan to fix them, no one will want to come back. And simply saying, \u2018but creativity happens at work,\u2019 isn\u2019t enough. How, in this company, does face-time promote creativity? What are people losing by not coming back?\u201d<\/p>\n Management needs to tell remote employees they will miss out. \u201cNo one will feel FOMO if an in-person event was sad, poorly attended and in a dimly lit room that could double as an FBI interrogation room,\u201d West added. \u201cThe office needs to be bright, vibrant, and have a mix of quiet spaces and happening ones.\u201d<\/p>\n \n \u201c<\/span>What began as a delicate dance has turned into an ultimatum. What are their employees returning to, and what are they resisting?\u201d<\/span>\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Do offices need to scrap oppressive fluorescent lighting and be more welcoming? Silicon Valley firms may have a head start on creating a warm environment. Google\u2019s offices are famous for mimicking home, with lounge areas, massage chairs and green spaces. Rather than being white and sterile, they have multiple textures and colors.<\/p>\n But sweet treats, soft drinks and relaxation rooms with plants may not be enough at many office spaces, which are \u2014 frankly \u2014 less inviting than many people\u2019s homes, especially if they are commuting for nearly 30 minutes one way (the average commuting time, according to the U.S. Census Bureau). Plus, some notable tech companies have been cutting back on perks in a bid to reduce costs, in another sign that the connection between workers and employers has long exited the honeymoon stage.<\/p>\n The comparison between the workplace and domestic relationships may not be so far fetched. Some 69% of workers said their managers impacted their mental health, matching the portion of workers who said their spouses or partners impacted their mental health, according to a study released in January by the Workforce Institute at UKG, which researches workplace issues.<\/p>\n What\u2019s more, offices with a toxic culture may just get worse with some employees working from home and others showing up. In fact, almost half of workers still feel pressured to engage in office politics,\u00a0a recent study, \u201cBackstabbing, Credit Snatching and Blame Gaming,\u201d from researchers at Pepperdine University found.<\/p>\n The bottom line: Office culture, like \u201csetting up house,\u201d incorporates the physical and cultural environment. West said no relationship works if you don\u2019t spend time together. \u201cThere needs to be networking time and work time, formal and informal contact, and chances to make your invisible work turn visible,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Emily Bary contributed.<\/em><\/p>\n
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\n Martha Stewart, Farmers Insurance and some Wall Street banks have effectively told remote workers they\u2019re getting too comfortable.\u00a0<\/p>\nGoogle is cracking down, Martha Stewart is speaking up<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\n will donate $10 for every day that staff members go to the office, Fortune reported this week, and it hopes to raise between $1 million and $2.5 million for charity in the process. Some described it as \u201ca cute gimmick.\u201d<\/p>\nHealth relationships need consistency \u2014 not unpredictability<\/strong><\/h2>\n