#WorkFromHome #OfficeSpace #PersonalInteractions #jobs #employers #employees
Companies that require office workers face a dilemma.
Since COVID-19 forced many workers to toil from home, some workers don’t want to come back to the office.
Their employers who pay for the office space want more workers to come back, at least once in a while.
Some, like Cisco in its Midtown Atlanta offices, are resorting to upgrading their office space by focusing on improving indoor environmental factors, according to an article by Zachary Hansen in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The article was published April 14, 2023.
In fact, as a new Portman Midtown Atlanta office tower goes up, it may be the last of its kind for a while, Hansen writes in an article published May 13, 2024.
But, will those things entice workers back into the office? Many have gotten used to working from home, or somewhere else. The advantages – no commute, no buying lunch at work and other money savings, for example – outweigh the disadvantages – no office worker interaction, distractions at home etc.
That puts companies in somewhat of a bind. How much office space do they really need? Does having an office building, or office space in general, give a company an identity that makes it worth having? Is upgrading office space to entice workers back going to be worth the investment? Will workers respond by coming back into the office?
These are the decisions of the future, both for companies and their employees. If a company forces workers to come back into the office, will they quit?
If a worker has a great job he or she doesn’t want to lose, will he or she give up the freedom that working from home gives them?
Will being home, with young children, be too much of a distraction for workers? Will they then bear the expenses of commuting, day care etc.?
Of course, many workers dream of having these alternatives. Many workers HAVE to go to work at a specific location. They cannot possibly do their jobs from home. They must interact with bosses, customers, coworkers etc.
But, if there are choices available, is there a way a worker can have it all with some sort of hybrid work schedule?
As discussed here before, if workers can do their jobs remotely, they can essentially live anywhere. They don’t have to be in a high-cost, high-tax locale, even if their employer is.
They can live where they want and still have the job they want.
But, as a society, do we want to encourage such a solitary lifestyle? Of course, essentially working alone cuts down on arguments. You don’t have to sit at a lunch table with someone you don’t like, or with whom you disagree on just about everything.
Still, we all benefit from having personal interactions with people. Some service organizations who meet regularly, even if they don’t require regular attendance, encourage it because club members are deprived of the presence of those who are absent. They see that as a loss.
So, most people will make decisions about where and how they work based on personal preference, unless companies impose requirements.
We will all miss something if too many people do not interact with one another. The workplace is the easiest, and often the best, place to do that.
Peter