The bosses who want us back at work
3 years, 9 months ago

The bosses who want us back at work

BBC  

The bosses who want us back in the office Alamy We assume remote work is here to stay – but some of the loudest voices in the corporate world are rallying to get employees back in offices. “It’s an aberration that we are going to correct as quickly as possible.” Jes Staley, chief executive of Barclays, voiced similar sentiments in January, describing remote working as a short-term measure that was not sustainable. “It takes a lot of inner strength and sustainability without the energy that you get from being around other people.” It will increasingly be a challenge to maintain the culture and collaboration that these large financial institutions seek to have and should have – Jes Staley What’s clear is that employers and employees now know far more about remote working than they did at the start of the pandemic. “We haven’t found a way to replicate that virtually.” Alamy Leading tech companies, such as Facebook, may find their office buildings emptier after the pandemic, as workers opt to stay remote Nicholas Bloom, a management expert and economics professor at Stanford University, believes the mindset in the finance industry is based on the goal of preserving company culture as well as employees’ job motivation. “And they don’t want employees checking in from a Greek café or Thai beach resort.” But Bloom says, since the pandemic struck, other more legitimate fears about remote working have surfaced: reduced productivity, due to the current lack of space and privacy and, for parents, the presence of children; loss of informal interactions that allow creativity; and the mental burden of employees always having to be switched on digitally.

Tech Employees Office Remote Work Companies Workers Company Remote Tech Companies Facebook Goldman Sachs Remote Working Working Culture  bosses  working  culture  office  company  remote  workers  work  employees  companies  tech

History of this topic

Amazon Delays Return-to-Office Mandate Due to Insufficient Workspace
2 days, 10 hours ago

Amazon Delays Return-to-Office Mandate Due to Insufficient Workspace

Deccan Chronicle  

In a surprising turn of events, Amazon has decided to delay its return-to-office mandate for a significant portion of its workforce in the United States. The Reason Behind the Delay In September, Amazon made headlines when it announced plans to bring employees back to the office at least three days a week, starting on January 2, 2024. Amazon’s return-to-office policy, …

'People Who Don’t Come To Office, Don’t Work': PayPal's Founder Peter Thiel Blasts Remote Work
3 days, 8 hours ago

'People Who Don’t Come To Office, Don’t Work': PayPal's Founder Peter Thiel Blasts Remote Work

ABP News  

PayPal founder Peter Thiel recently explained why Silicon Valley moved away from the Work from Home model. In a TV interview, Thiel criticised remote work, stating, "When people didn’t come into the office, they weren’t working.” He described the initial phase as one where employees had the power to "insist on not working." Highlighting a connection between remote work, perceived …

Remote Work Uncovered: Jooble’s Perspective
3 weeks, 4 days ago

Remote Work Uncovered: Jooble’s Perspective

NL Times  

Although remote work as a concept existed for decades, the COVID-19 pandemic skyrocketed the opportunities in this regard. Remote Work Uncovered: Jooble’s Perspective As a job aggregator, Jooble hosts millions of job openings all over the world. There are several reasons for that: The lockdown showed that employees tend to be more productive and more satisfied with their jobs in …

Return to office policies: What makes them work?
4 weeks ago

Return to office policies: What makes them work?

Salon  

When COVID-19 struck, millions quickly adapted to remote work, ditching the commute for home offices and discovering perks like flexibility, time saved and a better work-life balance. Related The shift to working from home has increased the number of hours Americans work "According to a Flex Index study, 79% of tech companies in North America allow employees to decide when …

What working from home is really doing to your health
10 months, 1 week ago

What working from home is really doing to your health

The Independent  

Few knew pre-pandemic what the consequences of remote working would be for our minds and bodies. “For some people, working at home was a good thing,” says Neil Greenberg, professor of defence mental health and occupational and forensic psychiatry at King’s College London. That’s dangerously sedentary behaviour.” It’s not hard to see where this is going – weight gain was …

Remote work doesn’t seem to affect productivity, US study finds
11 months, 1 week ago

Remote work doesn’t seem to affect productivity, US study finds

Hindustan Times  

US industries that are more adaptable to remote work haven’t seen a bigger boost — or decline — in productivity growth since 2020 compared to industries with more in-person work, according to new research from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. While the shift toward remote-work arrangements has reshaped society in ways that will continue to evolve, there is …

Remote workers actually aren’t more productive. Will bosses finally call them back in this year?
11 months, 2 weeks ago

Remote workers actually aren’t more productive. Will bosses finally call them back in this year?

LA Times  

These days, it looks like the bloom is coming off the rose for remote work: Many employers are talking tougher. Deborah Lovich, who leads Boston Consulting Group’s work on “people strategy,” sees more employers adopting hybrid work as they see the financial and nonfinancial benefits. “Firms shouldn’t care about productivity, they should care about profitability,” said Bloom, who is part …

Companies using software to track remote workers, many fired when not seen working near computer
1 year, 3 months ago

Companies using software to track remote workers, many fired when not seen working near computer

India Today  

Remote working is becoming a preferred way of working for many job professionals around the globe. A recent report by Business Insider revealed that many companies across the globe are now using software to surveil their employees and keep track of their work during office hours. "We help companies get peace of mind with productivity analytics,"said Carlo Borja, Time Doctor's …

Remote work gave them a reprieve from racism. They don’t want to go back
1 year, 4 months ago

Remote work gave them a reprieve from racism. They don’t want to go back

LA Times  

As LeRon Barton weighed his options, he realized what he had to do. “And just the quality of life has improved drastically.” It’s a sentiment expressed by many Black workers and other people of color who found that remote work lessened the racism they faced on the job. With remote work, the data confirm whether workers are getting their jobs …

Employers’ push to end remote work and return to office is stalling
1 year, 4 months ago

Employers’ push to end remote work and return to office is stalling

LA Times  

Coming out of the pandemic, Bart Valdez has had the mind-set of many traditional bosses. Today a third of Ingenovis’ employees are back in the office, one-third work entirely from home, and one-third do a hybrid mix of remote and in-person work. Even as more corporations are moving to call workers back to the office, arguing it’s better for preserving …

Working from home becomes a once-a-week perk for some office goers
1 year, 6 months ago

Working from home becomes a once-a-week perk for some office goers

LA Times  

The entrance to Walt Disney Co. headquarters is seen from West Alameda Avenue in Burbank. It’s a form of RTO creep, as companies test what has emerged as the post-pandemic norm of two to three days in the office and fan the debate over remote work. BlackRock has said employees must be in the office four days a week starting …

Meta employees to soon work from office three days a week: Report
1 year, 6 months ago

Meta employees to soon work from office three days a week: Report

Hindustan Times  

Meta has ordered its employees to work from office three days a week from September 5, tech news site The Information reported on Thursday. The report added that the crackdown on remote work is part of the company’s broader push to work more efficiently amid a massive layoff of nearly 10,000 employees. We're also committed to continuously refining our model …

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna warns employees, says return to office or lose career opportunities
1 year, 7 months ago

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna warns employees, says return to office or lose career opportunities

India Today  

IBM has seen its hybrid-cloud computing business grow during the pandemic, thanks to the increased demand for remote work solutions. Further describing the company's return-to-office policy, IBM CEO further notes that "It seems to me that we work better when we are together in person." While 80 per cent of IBM's employees work from home at least some of the …

The latest on hybrid work: Who is WFH and who isn’t
1 year, 8 months ago

The latest on hybrid work: Who is WFH and who isn’t

CNN  

New York CNN — As the economy slows, are employers starting to regain the upper hand in negotiations with employees and job seekers? The BLS survey also interpreted respondents’ answers as referring to a company’s formal telework policies, not whether some employees informally work remotely on occasion, such as responding to work emails from home. What others have found Stanford …

Why bosses are rolling back remote work
1 year, 10 months ago

Why bosses are rolling back remote work

BBC  

The companies backtracking on flexible work Getty Images Amid looming economic instability and widespread layoffs, bosses are ordering their workers back to the office. “However, they were unable to enforce that during the peak of the pandemic hiring boom: the competition for talent meant if you made your employees come back to the office, they’d call your rival and take …

Will recession put an end to work from home in 2023?
1 year, 11 months ago

Will recession put an end to work from home in 2023?

Firstpost  

A shortage of labour gave employees more say in the last two years, but this could change in 2023 as a recession looms large. While remote work has become the norm with many companies making it or at least hybrid work part of the policy, top executives the world over remain divided over it. Stephen Fear, the founder of the …

Why the trend toward remote work isn’t going to fade in 2023
2 years ago

Why the trend toward remote work isn’t going to fade in 2023

LA Times  

If the U.S. job market continues to weaken next year, companies will be emboldened and may pull back on letting employees work remotely. “You’re starting to see companies pick sides.” That said, remote work looks like it’s here to stay. “In any economic environment, top talent always has outside options,” said Choudhury, who studies remote work. Recession cost cuts Rather …

Surge in remote working due to COVID fuels record employment for people with disabilities
2 years ago

Surge in remote working due to COVID fuels record employment for people with disabilities

LA Times  

After generations of being overlooked and sidelined in the job market, Americans with disabilities are enjoying an unprecedented employment boom — thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. “I never thought I would be able to do community organization remotely.” Yet for all the gains made since the pandemic, disability rights advocates say many capable people with disabilities remain unemployed or underemployed …

The office is outmoded, but it will still survive
2 years, 2 months ago

The office is outmoded, but it will still survive

Live Mint  

For now, they are asking nicely. “Anyone who wishes to do remote work must be in the office for a minimum of 40 hours per week or depart Tesla. It is possible that many people like to go to an office every day for various reasons that has nothing to do with work. But the point is that even artists …

The companies doubling down on remote work
2 years, 5 months ago

The companies doubling down on remote work

BBC  

The companies doubling down on remote work Getty Images Some CEOs are permanently shutting office space to give up on hybrid set-ups and fully embrace working from home. “I would think that it's non-reversible workers won't want to go back into the office.” For companies with the flexibility to take such a dramatic decision, the option is becoming increasingly appealing …

Work from Home to Continue in India? Survey Finds 73% Office Occupiers Want Hybrid Model
2 years, 5 months ago

Work from Home to Continue in India? Survey Finds 73% Office Occupiers Want Hybrid Model

News 18  

The days of remote working for all days of the work week may be over for employees in India as organisations are looking to shift to the hybrid model, a survey has indicated. Ltd, that 73 per cent of office space occupiers in India are evaluating hybrid working arrangements going forward instead of granting work from home to its employees …

The Mystery of “Remote” Job Listings That Aren’t Actually Remote
2 years, 6 months ago

The Mystery of “Remote” Job Listings That Aren’t Actually Remote

Slate  

Few people are as knee-deep in our work-related anxieties and sticky office politics as Alison Green, who has been fielding workplace questions for a decade now on her website Ask a Manager. Amid the boom in remote working spurred by pandemic closures two years ago, job seekers are encountering a frustrating phenomenon: jobs advertised as “remote” when they really aren’t. …

Is remote work worse for wellbeing than people think?
2 years, 6 months ago

Is remote work worse for wellbeing than people think?

BBC  

Is remote work worse for wellbeing than people think? But new research into remote work and wellbeing has shown mixed results – in Microsoft’s 2022 New Future of Work Report, researchers found that although remote work can improve job satisfaction, it can also lead to employees feeling “socially isolated, guilty and trying to overcompensate”. Getty Images Many people can feel …

How remote workers are ticking off travel bucket lists
2 years, 6 months ago

How remote workers are ticking off travel bucket lists

Hindustan Times  

Combining business travels with leisure is nothing new. "We even saw guests abroad our cruise ships working on laptops," said Dünhaupt. Gramenz is certain companies will continue offering staff and potential new hires the possibility to work remotely and take workcations even when the pandemic is over. "We've got itchy feet, so we're going to try and go a little …

The new-age of workspaces
2 years, 8 months ago

The new-age of workspaces

The Hindu  

When one thinks of pre-2020 and how companies competed with one another to emerge as an employer of choice, the focus lay primarily on building office spaces in major urban centres around the world, with advanced designs and state-of-the-art workplace amenities, as they were the key selling points. At the back of this trend, corporate offices are moving to a …

The simmering tension between remote and in-office workers
2 years, 8 months ago

The simmering tension between remote and in-office workers

BBC  

The simmering tension between remote and in-office workers Getty Images Companies are calling employees back to the workplace – but not all of them. “While we can submit return-to-office queries during virtual meetings, they’re never been answered directly.” As pandemic restrictions end, more and more companies are calling employees back to the office – yet the rules are not universal …

WFH forever? Two years into a work-from-home revolution, some may never return to the office
2 years, 8 months ago

WFH forever? Two years into a work-from-home revolution, some may never return to the office

ABC  

For almost a decade, Jenny Searle has had the same job. Outgoing chief executive Andy Penn points out the difference between working under lockdown conditions and the choice of working in a "hybrid" way: Sometimes at home, sometimes in the office, sometimes travelling or in the field. "Gone are the days where you see the old, brown carpet and brown …

Op-Ed: Of course many people of color prefer remote work. It helps dodge office weirdness
2 years, 8 months ago

Op-Ed: Of course many people of color prefer remote work. It helps dodge office weirdness

LA Times  

A November survey of knowledge workers found that 86% of Latino workers and 81% of Asian/Asian American and Black workers would prefer a hybrid or fully remote arrangement, compared with 75% of their white counterparts. “People,” who, in a November survey of 10,737 knowledge workers conducted by the workplace research consortium Future Forum, indicated they preferred remote work over office …

The 'ghost colleagues' of the remote workplace
2 years, 9 months ago

The 'ghost colleagues' of the remote workplace

BBC  

The 'ghost colleagues' of the remote workplace Getty Images Remote working during the pandemic shrank employees’ worlds. Even if people didn’t directly work together or weren’t on the same team, employees had at least some colleagues to exchange a few casual words with throughout the workday. Getty Images Casual chats with officemates outside a team were a staple of in-person …

New offices for the hybrid era? Many companies are on board
2 years, 9 months ago

New offices for the hybrid era? Many companies are on board

Associated Press  

— If you build a shiny new office building, will your employees show up to work in it? Another survey done last year by CBRE Group, the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm, showed that 87% of large companies planned to use a hybrid schedule after the pandemic, with workers in the office part of the time. …

Op-Ed: Work life will never be the same. We need some in-person days and some remote
2 years, 10 months ago

Op-Ed: Work life will never be the same. We need some in-person days and some remote

LA Times  

Working from home surged twelvefold between 2017-2018 and May 2020. Surveys of 50,000 workers across the country find they want to work from home 2.5 days a week on average after the pandemic. Employees working from home frequently tell me how they enjoy the freedom of being able to go to the gym or see the dentist during a week …

Remote working new normal; 82% employees prefer working from home: Study
2 years, 10 months ago

Remote working new normal; 82% employees prefer working from home: Study

The Hindu  

With the COVID-19 pandemic bringing unprecedented changes in work life, a study has revealed that 82% respondents admitted that they prefer working from home to going back to the office. The remote work trend was initially forced on employees due to the pandemic, however, after two years remote working has become a new normal and as things settled down new …

Remote work and the importance of writing
2 years, 11 months ago

Remote work and the importance of writing

The Economist  

Listen to this story. “The discipline of writing something down is the first step toward making it happen,” reckoned Lee Iacocca, a quotable titan of the American car industry. Andrew Bosworth, a bigwig at Meta, has a blog in which he muses interestingly on many topics, including on writing itself: “In my experience, discussion expands the space of possibilities while …

The future of work is hybrid – here’s an expert’s recommendations for success
3 years, 1 month ago

The future of work is hybrid – here’s an expert’s recommendations for success

Salon  

COVID-19 has changed the way we work. One thing stands out: Hybrid work arrangements – that is, employees who do some tasks in the office and others virtually – is clearly going to be a big part of the picture. One survey from April 2021 shows 99% of human resources leaders expect employees to work in some kind of hybrid …

‘You Are Mommy Tracked to the Billionth Degree’
3 years, 1 month ago

‘You Are Mommy Tracked to the Billionth Degree’

Politico  

While no one can be sure what workplaces will look like once we’re far removed from the pandemic — whenever that will be — the way we work will likely be altered in the long run. “They’ll expect the committed workers to come back, too.” “ It can be hard to tell if you are being treated differently than others, …

We’re not abusing remote working – it’s a lifeline for carers like me
3 years, 2 months ago

We’re not abusing remote working – it’s a lifeline for carers like me

The Independent  

This week, remote working has again been in the spotlight after city bosses declared it unproductive. I have to carefully consider every job opportunity based on what I am able to juggle, not what I’m capable of doing or where it may take my career, until the shift to working from home. The switch to remote and hybrid working means …

Dropbox billionaire predicts 40-hour workweek will become a ‘thing of the past’
3 years, 2 months ago

Dropbox billionaire predicts 40-hour workweek will become a ‘thing of the past’

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Research commissioned this summer by IWG plc surveyed 1,000 …

How companies around the world are shifting the way they work
3 years, 3 months ago

How companies around the world are shifting the way they work

BBC  

How companies around the world are shifting the way they work Getty Images Companies are trying to work out the best post-pandemic working model. “The more traditional model of having an HQ and a manager who works in the same office as employees and having set hours and a lot of meetings just isn’t the most efficient model for most …

What bosses really think about remote work
3 years, 3 months ago

What bosses really think about remote work

BBC  

What bosses really think about remote work Getty Images Many managers are itching to get staff back to the office, despite employees championing alternative set-ups. “They start saying, ‘OK, now, you took the second vaccine, you need to be at the office’.” All this is fuelling debates about why exactly bosses are turning their backs on remote setups faster than …

Why remote work is a big problem for the economy
3 years, 4 months ago

Why remote work is a big problem for the economy

CNN  

New York CNN Business — Americans are trickling back to their pre-pandemic workplaces, but most offices are still largely empty. The Metropolitan Transit Authority received nearly $4 billion in government funding through the CARES Act, but fare and toll revenues aren’t expected to come back to their previous levels until 2023, according to a report from the Office of the …

The People Who’d Rather Quit Than Give Up Remote Work
54 years, 11 months ago

The People Who’d Rather Quit Than Give Up Remote Work

Slate  

Few people are as knee-deep in our work-related anxieties and sticky office politics as Alison Green, who has been fielding workplace questions for a decade now on her website Ask a Manager. That’s because for many people remote work has been great—the lack of commute, flexible schedule, and more casual dress have provided a massive quality-of-life boon for many of …

Salesforce exec discusses post-pandemic playbook for work
3 years, 5 months ago

Salesforce exec discusses post-pandemic playbook for work

Associated Press  

After reshaping their businesses to deal with threats posed by the pandemic, many companies are facing another daunting challenge: how to bring remote workers back to the office when people are still debating face masks and not everyone has received the COVID-19 vaccine. A: Quite honestly, in the U.S., I am not sure people are super ready to get back …

Remote work is the new signing bonus
3 years, 5 months ago

Remote work is the new signing bonus

Live Mint  

After almost a year and a half of working from home, many white-collar employees say they are not willing to return to corporate offices full-time. Hardly anyone will return to Allstate’s offices full time, Ms. Blair says, after employees expressed in surveys that they didn’t want to and the company found most functions don’t require an office setting. “Instead of …

The workers pushing back on the return to the office
3 years, 6 months ago

The workers pushing back on the return to the office

BBC  

The workers pushing back on the return to the office Getty Images Some companies want staff back in the office for more time than employees had anticipated. Apple’s pre-pandemic policies discouraged remote work, but post-Covid-19, employees are challenging what they called “a disconnect between how the executive team thinks about remote/location-flexible work and the lived experiences of many of Apple’s …

L.A. employers are preparing for your return. Here’s how
3 years, 7 months ago

L.A. employers are preparing for your return. Here’s how

LA Times  

Workers and companies are planning for returning to the office — or not — as the economy reopens. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to evolve some entrenched work habits and to create new and better ways of working,” said Patrick Niemann, Greater Los Angeles managing partner at professional services firm Ernst & Young. “At the same time, we must be …

Here's how working from home makes you more productive
3 years, 8 months ago

Here's how working from home makes you more productive

Hindustan Times  

The great work-from-home experiment occasioned by the pandemic has divided opinion in the corporate suite and sparked endless debates about whether employees work as effectively from the kitchen table as they do from the office. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer David Solomon has called the new arrangements “an aberration” that the investment bank will “correct as quickly as …

Some workers can’t wait to get back to the office
3 years, 8 months ago

Some workers can’t wait to get back to the office

CNN  

While some employees are enjoying the flexibility of working from home, Janell Longa can’t wait to return to the office. “I am really keen to get back to the office,” said Sarah Williams, associate director of the Business School, University of Wolverhampton, UK, who’s been working from home for more than a year. “For me, that blurring of the lines …

Tech giants who made remote working possible now turn their backs on it
3 years, 8 months ago

Tech giants who made remote working possible now turn their backs on it

The Telegraph  

A return to work will feel like returning to school after an extended summer holiday for younger employees. “I just started enjoying WFH, but they want us back now,” says one anonymous Amazon worker. “When we all get called back into the office in summer, people working remotely will end up getting sidelined,” wrote a Facebook worker. “But it really …

One year of Covid-19 pandemic: Companies fighting complexities of hybrid workspace
3 years, 8 months ago

One year of Covid-19 pandemic: Companies fighting complexities of hybrid workspace

India Today  

A year after the first Covid-19 case was reported, it is obvious that the pandemic’s impact on the future of work and workplaces is here to stay. With working remotely it has become even more important for employees to stay connected by attending virtual gatherings, maintaining a high level of enthusiasm, and highlight professional accomplishments. Remote work makes cybersecurity vital …

Working from home isn’t working, at least for the young
3 years, 8 months ago

Working from home isn’t working, at least for the young

The Independent  

Goldman Sachs has come under attack for the pressures put on junior members of staff. But the most interesting point he made – one that affects people far beyond the lofty heights of New York investment banking – was this: “In this world of remote work, it feels like we have to be connected 24/7.” If your office is your …

Discover Related