Why Going Back to the Office (Probably) Isn’t as Cool as Your Boss Thinks It Is

Okay.

The last 15 (ish) months have been rough.

We people of the office have weathered a lot of changes since the pandemic began. Many of us went from Zoom newbies to Zoom veterans in a manner of weeks. This was, after all, a program few people used daily, or perhaps even weekly (let alone all day, every day).

Now we ping our colleagues for a video chat to discuss complex problems, and sort out the minutiae over messenger and email. No one gets tapped on the shoulder literally when a problem arises, or pulled into an actual room to discuss plans for the company’s next rollout.

And all of that is OK.

People everywhere miss interacting with each other; seeing one another face-to-face, but when we think deeply about it — we miss our family, and our friends, not pats on the back from someone down the hall…or do we?

At the start of this work from home experiment, people wondered whether workers would still feel valued at home, or if they would work too little, or too much. Well the findings are out, and the truth is, most workers self-managed their work better than any managers could have, and if you were married to your work before you went home, you probably stayed married to it once you got there.

Here’s my take on it.

I think the pandemic forced people to choose what camp they were in. The work-to-live group, or the live-to-work group.

“I think the pandemic forced people to choose what camp they were in. The work-to-live group or the live-to-work group.”

The former were suddenly confronted with how much time they spent away from their spouse and kids, or from the home they’d spent so much of their hard-earned money on (only to use it like a motel), or from the dog they’d adopted for some company (only to hire someone else to walk and feed it) and realised they weren’t happy with what — up until that point — had been the status quo.

These people felt more fulfilled at home with their families and their pets than they had been in a fourth floor cubicle surrounded by fluorescent lights.

They started to enjoy eating breakfast instead of skipping it to beat rush hour traffic; they started eating dinners with family or learnt to cook instead of ordering in at work (again).

These people weren’t wedded to their work or their workplace, they were just tied there from nine to five.

The second group is the live-to-work group, and boy, was this transition rough for them. They lived at the office. Their friends were their co-workers (cultivating relationships outside of the workplace became too difficult years ago). They were so used to life at the office it was the only place they showered and ate.

So what did work from home mean for them?

In some cases, time with someone they hadn’t seen for months and had almost forgotten existed.

In others, cleaning up dog dung in the yard or vacuuming the house when these chores used to be done by someone from outside the household.

In all, hours normally spent at the office or in transit became hours with only their neglected spouse or puppy (or worse — their thoughts) for company.

These people want to return in droves to the life they had before the pandemic, because for them, the entire COVID experience offered nothing new. The reset button was just an inconvenience; a bar to productivity. They’re excited by the prospect of butts in seats, of an office teeming with life, because it’s a place they feel comfortable, and that prior to the pandemic, they were loath to leave.

Granted, not everyone falls into the above categories. There are also those who long for a return to the office simply so that they can once more use their kitchen table for eating and their bedroom for sleeping — instead of for Zoom meetings. Some of us have real friends at the office, or nobody to go home to at the end of a workday. For those in the above situations, the office does offer some real benefits.

But the bosses who believe that everybody is ready to make merry about a return to life before the pandemic — where too many hours were logged away from friends, family, and (good grief!) just life in general — are gravely mistaken in thinking that we all share in their enthusiasm.

Some of us have found a new rhythm. Some of us have found mental health, a new love of the outdoors, or even fallen in love with someone. For some of us, life will never be the same as it was before— and why should we want it to be?

With fewer distractions around, many of us are more productive. With no commute, some of us start work earlier and finish tasks faster. Our bosses are pleased with our work, and our performance reviews are glowing. We have only continued to achieve where others thought it impossible.

Why should we now be punished by being forced back into a life we don’t want to live? Why, when people are so very different, are some companies using a one-size-fits-all approach to remote work?

So far, a few companies like Shopify and Spotify have got it right and given their employees the ability to choose. Others are offering a hybrid week with days at home being selected by CEOs or upper management.

It is interesting that the executives who trusted workers with keeping their companies afloat during one of the most trying economic periods in recent history do not trust workers enough to choose which days they can work from home. The irony of this is lost on some.

“The executives who trusted workers with keeping their companies afloat during one of the most trying economic periods in recent history do not trust workers enough to choose which days they can work from home.”

Perhaps we’ll never know why bosses are so eager for us to return to the office. I’ll certainly not listen to another argument on how remote work “stifles collaboration”, when I’ve found the opposite to be true. We may have to be more diligent with our time now and force ourselves to come together (virtually) more than we might have in the past, but it’s still possible. I’m apt to think that those who don’t believe this to be so are not great managers of their calendar.

One thing is for certain: those of us who have made it out the other side of this pandemic know that going back to the office is not as cool as our bosses think it is. And there’s no amount of free drinks, pizza lunches, or air conditioned cubicles that can change that.