The world went crazy a few years ago. We all lived through the greatest disruption (yet) of the 21st century. A virus broke on the scene and the world of work was upended in many locales, perspectives, and worlds. Before this, we had all heard of the lucky ones who worked from home. But in SARS-CoV-2, a great many got to escape to their bat caves.
While the OJCC never shuttered, never stopped, and never failed, a great many businesses and government agencies did all three. Some were upfront about it. Others hid in the shadows and exclaimed their resilience while actually abandoning their offices. I note it as a point of pride that the OJCC team remained in the offices, open, and functioning throughout. Those employees and their resilience will always be a point of extreme pride for me.
I have written about it extensively. See Remediating (February 2022); Productivity is Down (December 2022); Virtual Productivity (August 2023); and Shifting Virtual (August 2024). The fact is that feelings are diverse. Those who want to work at home see themselves as more productive and happy there. Those who manage workers typically see that paradigm as less effective and less productive. There is, here, conflict.
In September 2024, Amazon ordered its workers back to the office, according to CBS. In making that announcement, the company spokesperson said ""When we look back over the last five years, we continue to believe that the advantages of being together in the office are significant." The company seems to have evolved from an "all remote" to a hybrid, to a "in office" perspective.
The shock of going virtual in 2020 was traumatic for some. Perhaps companies see the potential for an immediate return to the office as equally shocking? That may explain why it has taken 5 years to transition back to an office environment, complete with commute, wardrobe, expense, and more.
Amazon is not alone. Tech.co published a list of "Companies (that) Have Ditched Fully Remote Working." The list is extensive and has many recognizable names like Starbucks, IBM, Microsoft, and more. The era of remote work is at least ending, and may already have ended. That article notes that there has been contemplation, weighing of employee preferences, and more that influenced the recent years of both indecision and decision.
What the article does not say is that the labor market has changed. In the Great Panic, employers were in the unenviable position of labor shortages, skill shortages, and demand. They needed workers, and the plethora of work-at-home alternatives had to be competed with. As the markets have changed, and workers are more plentiful, that collective need has diminished and business is finding it can be more demanding and less accommodating.
The overall implications are fascinating in a macro sense. However, in a micro sense, there will be employees who are faced with tough decisions about how to proceed. Some will see this as the classic Clash debate "Should I stay or should I go." (The Clash, Epic, 1982). And, it is a fair question.
Microsoft News recently featured I quit my job because of an RTO mandate. I never want to work in an office again. It recounts the perspectives of an employee and commuter who found solace and peace in the work-at-home environment of the early Panic. When that changed early in the recovery, 2021, a "return to office" requirement led her to quit the job. Office work is not for everyone.
This person sees the analysis as one of work/life balance. She sees a personal cost/benefit analysis that leads her to conclude that she will not return to the world of office work. She has background, education, and experience that apparently affords that choice and the ability to both preserve her personal preferences and earn a living. That is a leverage that many in the workforce will simply lack (some personally, skills, some vocationally because certain jobs simply require presence).
Nonetheless, she was able to pull a Johnny Paycheck and say "Take this job and shove it, I ain't working here no more." (CBS, 1977). That is a phrase that many an employee has dreamed of uttering over the years. But, as likely, many an employee has lamented making such a statement. Remember that famous James Bondism "Never say never again." (Warner Brothers, 1983).
That was a cute play on words when the "last" (then) James Bond, Sean Connery, returned to the franchise he had previously abandoned and in which the "latest" (then) James Bond, Roger Moore, was flourishing. The decision to depart the franchise was sound and considered when made, but times change.
Having departed need not be a permanent change. People change as well. And, in fairness, Sean Connery's return as an iconic and popular star was perhaps easier than others may find a return after a long hiatus from a particular work environment or paradigm.
The point of all of this is that virtual work is not disappearing (perhaps), but it is markedly diminishing. The world of office work, far from the dire prognostications of recent years, is not only alive and kicking but apparently expanding. The impact of the Panic is fading. The challenges to management are prevailing. The worker's leverage is diminishing. The world of work is changing (again).
Will it matter? I think that will depend on the person. Supertramp nailed this analysis for me with Goodbye Stranger a lifetime ago. They sang:
Now some they do and some they don'tAnd some you just can't tellAnd some they will and some they won'tWith some it's just as well(Supertramp, Goodbye Stranger, A&M 1979)
And so it is today, with "they" being either employers or employees. The fact is "some they will and some they won't" either allow remote or agree to commute. And the facts are patent. It will be hard to tell at times. And in the end, with either employer insistence or employee resistance, "with some it's just as well" (either "we didn't need that worker" or "I didn't need that opportunity.")
The reality is that there are choices. The reality is that there will be variations and decisions. The reality is that there will be both virtual and real. What a great country we live in that such choices are before us.
