Work From Home: I came across a Forbes article today that claims up to 40% of people are willing to take a pay cut for the benefit of working from home.
We all know that one of the benefits post-COVID has been work-life balance. We’re also aware of many companies trying to force people to come back and work from the office. I can see arguments on both sides of this.
Why Are Companies Pushing for a Return to Office?
Companies want employees to come back to work to foster teamwork. You know, the cases where companies don’t trust employees enough to work from home. Unfortunately, this also raises questions such as:
- How good are managers at setting targets for their employees?
- Is this calling for an improvement in managerial skill sets?
- Are we treating people as adults?
All of these are valid questions. But I suppose we’re unpacking a generational debate here—where senior leadership might be used to the ways of working while being in the office. This is in direct conflict with the current generation, where the norm has been set at working from home.
I still remember the days when we had to take explicit permission from a manager to be able to work from home. But I’m glad it’s not the case anymore.
You’ll always find me rooting for the cause of working from home and having the ability to have a better work-life balance. I like the idea of treating people like adults and trusting that they can live up to the responsibilities of their role.
The Risk of People Taking Advantage
I’m certain that there are some people who will take advantage of this. We’ve also seen cases where people have taken two or three jobs to exploit the situation. But I suppose there will always be people like that.
It is such a difficult position to be in as an organisational leader. As a leader, the question is:
- Will you try to prevent a few bad employees from taking advantage of you?
- Or do you focus on the good employees who are reliable and continue benefiting them?
The most common temptation is to impose discipline and prevent people from taking advantage of the company. But I feel that this is a short-term decision. People who take advantage will always find new ways to do so.
We shouldn’t be in a place where we make life difficult for good employees just to stop a few bad ones from misusing flexibility.
Are Managers Equipped to Handle Remote Teams?
The other thing to think about is whether managers are well-equipped to manage people working from home.
One of the biggest challenges is that managers are used to seeing people in the office. This gives them the illusion that employees are working. It also allows them to have direct oversight of how people are using their time.
With work from home, the boundaries have changed. Setting up a meeting and not interrupting someone’s focus time has become more visible. This is a great benefit for employees as it allows them to have uninterrupted deep work.
But some managers will not like it.
The Bigger Picture: Evolving Work Culture
Obviously, you can see that I’m biased here. I think we should embrace the culture of working from home.
We should always find ways to evolve and improve the quality of work for the people we work with. We all do a job because it forms part of our life.
Sure, responsibility, commitment, and ownership are very important. But all of this only becomes meaningful when we have a good work-life balance.
It reminds me of this quote from Narayana Murthy:
“Love your job, but never fall in love with your company because you never know when the company stops loving you.”— Narayana Murthy
The Future of Work: Recognising Employee Needs
In this day and age, we can’t afford to take people for granted. It’s great that we all have opportunities. This forces companies to be more aware of their people and go the extra mile to keep them happy.
If you’re looking at a pure meritocracy, then companies will fight for good talent. And part of that equation, at least in the current day and age, is the minimum requirement of working from home.
Hence, I see merit in this discovery from the Forbes article.
Although, I’m still wary when people say they’re ready to take a pay cut. I’d always take that with a pinch of salt. Sometimes, we hear these metrics, but there’s always a bias to them.
We don’t always say what we mean.
But I would certainly take away one key point—work from home is incredibly important for most of us.
As leaders within an organisation, it’s very important to recognise this as we prepare for the future.
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