It depends on the work required, and the discipline of the employee. If the job is primarily "head's down" (such as software dev, analysis, or task execution) and there's a strong work ethic, then the flexibility and work/life balance of working from home is superior for productivity.
If your job is networking (such as various leadership positions, enterprise sales, etc), then being 100% work from home is far less effective. Face time is still required.
IMO, the one exception is hybrid office + pure virtual teams that need to collaborate with one another. There ends up being an advantage to being "in the room", and virtual employees are at a disadvantage for advancement.
RysanWelsh - 3 years ago
I miss the in person contact and serendipitous findings of news about projects that you get when you stand in a doorway and have a conversation or meet someone in the break room. But as far as getting the work done, about the same. Also, it's tough to orient new staff to our team remotely especially if they have no prior remote experience.
IANAL - 3 years ago
When has the effectiveness of employees ever been relevant to company life? We've all had a manager make their team waste a month on their inconsequential ego trip. Employee effectiveness is about as relevant as what color the offices are painted.
Here's my post pandemic prediction. Everybody who can moves to their luxury ski resort -> white sand beach -> cheap Florida shack. The huge capital has network effects that keep it in the coastal cities. That capital keeps specialized white collar workers and management flunkeys in their coastal cities. The in person service workers follow to the the coastal cities or sunny locations in proportion to the population.
Companies are temporarily in a bind. They have a labor shortage caused by boomers suddenly getting an asset windfall and retiring. And shareholders require the same pound of flesh they always do. So companies briefly flex and reorient themselves around the compromises of capital and labor.
Adam Terzich - 3 years ago
As an HIT lifer and road warrior it's not the office - it's the inability to travel and meet with clients. The in-person interactions were priceless, and this is excluding the wine-and-dine and conferences. Onsite conversations/demos/meetings/presentations will never be replicated by a virtual platform, nor should they be,
It depends on the work required, and the discipline of the employee. If the job is primarily "head's down" (such as software dev, analysis, or task execution) and there's a strong work ethic, then the flexibility and work/life balance of working from home is superior for productivity.
If your job is networking (such as various leadership positions, enterprise sales, etc), then being 100% work from home is far less effective. Face time is still required.
IMO, the one exception is hybrid office + pure virtual teams that need to collaborate with one another. There ends up being an advantage to being "in the room", and virtual employees are at a disadvantage for advancement.
I miss the in person contact and serendipitous findings of news about projects that you get when you stand in a doorway and have a conversation or meet someone in the break room. But as far as getting the work done, about the same. Also, it's tough to orient new staff to our team remotely especially if they have no prior remote experience.
When has the effectiveness of employees ever been relevant to company life? We've all had a manager make their team waste a month on their inconsequential ego trip. Employee effectiveness is about as relevant as what color the offices are painted.
Here's my post pandemic prediction. Everybody who can moves to their luxury ski resort -> white sand beach -> cheap Florida shack. The huge capital has network effects that keep it in the coastal cities. That capital keeps specialized white collar workers and management flunkeys in their coastal cities. The in person service workers follow to the the coastal cities or sunny locations in proportion to the population.
Companies are temporarily in a bind. They have a labor shortage caused by boomers suddenly getting an asset windfall and retiring. And shareholders require the same pound of flesh they always do. So companies briefly flex and reorient themselves around the compromises of capital and labor.
As an HIT lifer and road warrior it's not the office - it's the inability to travel and meet with clients. The in-person interactions were priceless, and this is excluding the wine-and-dine and conferences. Onsite conversations/demos/meetings/presentations will never be replicated by a virtual platform, nor should they be,