The Future Of Working From Home: Is It Here To Stay?

It's the most hotly-debated topic in the corporate world; is WFH here to stay or should we return to the office? 

Some bosses are still sour lemons about working from home and have introduced 'return to work mandates'. Some people are thrilled, and others…not so much.

Thanks to ‘rona, technology had no option but to advance faster than Sonic the Hedgehog to enable us to work from home. It has now become so convenient that people don’t wanna trek it into the office every day and deal with the perils of public transport, unrelenting traffic and awkward small-talk with coworkers.

And rightfully so. To me, working from home is a bonafide no-brainer. I write this from the comfort of my own couch. I’m in my tracksuit, no distractions (other than my dog), and am +$15 in my bank account cause I haven’t had to buy lunch or an exy $7 coffee.

I’m actually more energised without said $7 coffee because I got an extra hour's sleep, and had time at lunch to get in a workout. I’m also in a good mood, because I didn’t have to slum it on public transport or get stuck in traffic. But hey, if my commute time came out of my 9-5 time, maybe I’d consider it.

I’m all for ditching the office for a few days a week. But I do understand working from home may have caused some serious trust issues between some old-school bosses and employees.

Without being able to physically see people in the office and doing their work at their desk, how do you know they’re doing their work or actually blackout drunk on a beach in Puerto Rico? You don’t.

It may be a stretch given border closures and the global pandemic and all, but does it matter if they are in Puerto Rico as long as they are getting all their work done and meeting deadlines? You would think not.

“But you have to come to work for the ~cuLturE~ and to benefit morale.”

Okay, I agree, I do need to have some sort of physical human interaction a few times a week or I will go bananas - even if it involves being fake nice to some people. Plus, I really wanna see my work crush.

Maybe returning to the office benefits one person’s morale, but it may completely destroy another. I, for one, need my midday shower every so often to keep my sanity.

HR could learn a little from the age old phrase “happy wife, happy life” - aka happy and motivated employee equals less likely to resign.

Enter hybrid work.

Why force people? Give them a choice. The future policy should be ‘come in if you want’.

If Suzie wants to go into the office for the culture, morale, to escape her kids and because she can’t concentrate at home, then let her. If Andrew wants to work from home and is meeting the same standards as before or even exceeding them, why does it matter?

TL;DR The job market is 🔥, so if you're unhappy with your employer's WFH policy, consider sniffing around.

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