Why the return to office is creating a tug of war

Amidst the push to revive pre-pandemic work norms, corporate leaders, including CEOs of tech giants Amazon and Meta, have been advocating a return to in-person work policies. However, this shift away from remote work faces resistance from employees who have grown accustomed to the flexibility and convenience of remote work.

Colleen Flaherty Manchester, a Professor in the Work and Organisations Department and Board of Overseers Professors at the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, emphasised the complexity of employee preferences, stating, “There’s quite a bit of variation on why employees might want different work arrangements. However, it’s easier from a managerial perspective to have a one-size-fits-all policy. Policies are easier to implement and monitor on an organisational level, but they don’t necessarily meet the needs on an individual employee level.”

Drawing on her pre-pandemic research, Manchester revealed a disconnect between managers’ perceptions and remote work choices. Managers often interpret remote work for personal reasons as a sign of reduced commitment and limited career growth prospects. This discord, according to her, contributes to the ongoing friction surrounding return-to-office policies.

Myles Shaver, a Professor and the Curtis L. Carlson Chair in Corporate Strategy in the Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship Department at the Carlson School of Management, underscored the value of serendipitous encounters with colleagues.

“The structured environment of Zoom meetings often loses out on the spontaneous moments that could lead to innovative breakthroughs,” he noted. “Being in-office allows for the serendipity of running into a colleague from a different department and launching into a conversation that answers the question you’ve been stuck on for weeks.”

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However, Shaver also highlighted the potential for in-office work and flexibility to co-exist harmoniously. “It’s important to note that in-office and flexibility aren’t necessarily opposites. But if flexibility is defined that you never come into the office, then that’s where employees might lose out on those career-changing opportunities and organisations might competitively suffer compared to peers who have returned to the office,” he concluded.