What’s behind the resistance to return to offices?
“Please don’t make me go back.” In this case, “back” refers to the office, a place from which millions of American workers retreated amid the existential threat of the pandemic. But with risks now receding, some employers are aggressively trying to get those workers back onto the road and into their cubicles.
It won’t be easy. Almost one-third of full-time employees now work at least a few days a week from home — the socalled hybrid schedule — while about 10% are fully remote.
Most want to keep it that way. According to a Gallup survey, onethird of hybrid workers would quit if required to return to the office full time, and almost two-thirds of fully remote employees would walk as well. A survey by McKinsey & Co. found that 87% of employees would take the opportunity to work remotely if given the option.
An office culture that evolved as the U.S. economy left its agrarian roots is undergoing another seismic transformation. While a once-a-century pandemic was the catalyst, the info-tech revolution made the shift feasible for the estimated 40% of the labor force for whom fully remote or hybrid work is possible.
According to a Washington Post-Ipsos poll, 48% of employees wishing to work from home mention the commute as the major motivating factor for avoiding the office — and for good reason. Commuters spend an average of almost an hour a day getting to and from work (that’s about 9,000 hours over a 40-year career), have less time for family, probably exercise less and eat fewer healthy meals, buy clothes they might not otherwise need, and run-up auto-related bills that pinch household budgets.
The productivity question
It’s logical to assume that some people won’t do their job as well amid the conveniences of home. Overall, however, the latest data suggests that concerns about a decline in labor market productivity are misplaced.
“The shift to remote and hybrid work has reshaped society in important ways, and these effects are likely to continue to evolve,” according to a January 2024 Economic Letter published on the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s website.
“For example, with less time spent commuting, some people have moved out of cities, and the lines between
work and home life have blurred. Despite these noteworthy effects, in this Letter we find little evidence in industry data that the shift to remote and hybrid work has either substantially held back or boosted the rate of productivity growth.”
It is also worth noting that on a macro-economic level, the U.S. is enjoying a productivity boom that should allay concerns about a pajama-clad workforce giving less than their best effort. Business productivity surged 2.7% last year, almost double the pace between 2007 and 2019.
The downside revealed in commercial real estate market
For all the advantages of a healthier, more rested and more flexible workforce — including making life easier for working mothers — there are some potential negatives as well.
The commercial real estate market is reeling under the weight of office vacancies, which puts considerable stress on the small and regional banks that hold their mortgages, though companies with remote workers might save on office expenses, thus improving profitability.
It’s also understandable if employees who can’t work remotely — nurses, teachers, police officers, firefighters, the “essential” workers of the pandemic, among others — might feel resentment towards those able to earn their paycheck from the comforts of home.
In addition, being in the office could help with career advancement, since employers might be more aware of what a worker brings to the job when they’re actually at the job. There’s also the matter of those serendipitous encounters with fellow employees that could unleash or fertilize an important idea. Finally, the loss of in-person interactions, even if not among best friends, could amplify the loneliness that seems to characterize so much of modern life.
Adaptation is a hallmark of a market-based economy, and the businesses that best navigate the post-COVID office arrangements are more likely to keep and attract the best workers. As the San Francisco Fed letter noted, “the future of work is likely to be a hybrid format that balances the benefits and limitations of remote work.”
To their credit, a number of companies are trying to make the office more of a destination by changing its physical setup, offering classes, or providing opportunities for shared fun, even if some of it might seem a tad forced. That won’t satisfy everyone, but creative management teams will figure out how to make it work.
There must be better ways to spend 9,000 hours.
Tom Saler is an author and freelance journalist in Madison. He can be reached at tomsaler.com