The coming culture war over returning to the office

It’s little wonder that 75 percent of people surveyed in a recent USA Today poll said they wanted to work from home either some or all of the time. “If employees said we want to go back five days a week, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” says Susan Lund, a McKinsey partner who recently authored a report on the future of work. At the same time, people are tired of Zoom meetings and the isolation of sitting in their own house or apartment day in and day out without a respite. Some people enjoy their commutes, which have a psychological benefit, buffering the workday from home life. A recent article in the Harvard Business Review found that remote work is causing an “erosion of trust in each other.” Many people are vaccinated, and many children are going to camp for the first time in two years. With the pandemic receding, so are reasons to keep staying inside. Which helps to explain the findings of another poll, this one conducted by SurveyMonkey in February, which reveals that twice as many people (36 percent) want to always work from the office than want to always work from home (18 percent). “The novelty of working from the comfort of our own homes has officially worn off,” writes human resources executive Susan Tohyama. Given these drastically differing opinions, Americans can expect “masses of turbulence,” says Nicholas Bloom, a Stanford economist who writes about the future of work.
Advertisement

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Trending on HotAir Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement