Employers are thinking about the future of their remote workforce
At no point in history has a remote workforce been such a figurative and literal lifesaver, with many companies weathering a global pandemic by keeping their people out of offices when it isn’t necessary. Attitudes about remote work have come to the surface along the way. Although the beginning of the pandemic was rough because there was no playbook, many executives are feeling the itch to call workers back, with 40% saying they’ll fire workers who won’t return to the office when that time comes.
That itch may be difficult to scratch in an environment where 65% of remote employees say they don’t want to go back into an office, and a whopping 40% say they’ll quit if called back in.
These studies have well-documented the growing tensions between employers and employees and, like at the beginning of the pandemic where there was no playbook of established procedures, so to goes the reemergence from the pandemic. It’s going to be rocky.
Small- to medium-sized companies are already experimenting with hybrid options and staggered schedules to keep offices populated, but only minimally. Large companies are more prone to rapid blowback if they don’t get it right, so they, too, are experimenting without any sweeping proclamations of “come back or get fired.”
It is impossible to predict with accuracy what a 2030 workforce will look like, but it will most certainly include more remote work options than in 2010 – a silver lining in an otherwise tragic global pandemic.
We are, however, getting glimpses into what the future could look like as we peek into business leaders’ attitudes toward remote work.
Some want butts in seats, others are betting big on fully virtual and dispersed workers, while others are leaving it up to individuals. Let’s take a look at the wide spectrum of current attitudes:
Applebee’s franchisee email goes viral
First up, let’s dive into the viral Applebee’s franchisee email from March 2022. In Kansas, a director of operations at a franchise was placed on leave after a memo they issued internally went viral.
With the subject line “Why gas increase is good for hiring,” the director is applauded by several in the email chain for suggesting that skyrocketing gas prices could allow employers to lower wages, that it will “increase application flow and has the potential to lower our average wage.”
The reason this viral memo is so critical to the future of remote work is that hospitality and retail are experiencing their own growing tension with an abundance of open roles, and a growing ill sentiment towards workers that “just don’t want to work,” (a sentiment we strongly disagree with).
With workers being more empowered by employment options, employers that carry negative attitudes towards those workers and believe that butts in seats are the only metric for performance, are very likely to be exposed and to go viral. The tech sector is a good example of an industry that is absorbing the talent from hospitality and retail as negativity from some employers is making that sector less appealing to many.
This means more competition in the remote workforce as people explore their options. While some business leaders have an attitude that relies on taking advantage of workers, remote employers that are welcoming of a diverse workforce are already benefiting from the exiting talent.
Facebook ties salary to location and is fully invested in a virtual future
In 2020, Facebook announced that they want their workforce to log in from anywhere, declaring that remote work is the way of the future. The only catch is that their salary will be in line with their new location, so Valley workers moving to Huntsville, Alabama would see their salary slashed dramatically.
The move was early on in the pandemic and sparked other tech executives to adopt a similar policy, which trickled down to other industries and to smaller companies. But it is a move that has not been without debate or blowback. At first, it sounded great, but for someone already struggling to make ends meet in San Francisco may also struggle to make ends meet elsewhere when their pay is decided by a faceless algorithm.
Another move Facebook has made is an apparent Flag On The Moon moment, staking their claim on virtual reality and insisting it is how the world will experience all office life will be experienced in the future.
It appears that Mark Zuckerberg wants to be the king of remote work, hoping to win the talent wars and be the authority on how work itself has changed.
In a world where ping pong tables and free snacks are no longer enough to attract top talent, companies are looking for new ways to snag the best.
And Zuck is hoping the virtual reality world of Meta will be the hub for remote work, proving its value as his own executives scatter across the nation.
But many people don’t trust him. Or this move.
What companies are not telling you is that in more moves to attract talent, the pay still isn’t the primary focus. They’re still trying the old schtick of throwing shiny things your way in hopes that you’ll get distracted.
Remote work will eventually benefit from virtual reality workspaces, but it is currently not a possibility for full-time use – headsets are heavier than they need to be and get warm after a bit of time, plus no studies on long term effects have gone mainstream yet.
For now, it is still a novelty.
FinTech startup tells people to do whatever they want
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While the Zuckerbergs of the world hope you’ll jump into the virtual world and forget about remote policies, another CEO (Dan Price, Gravity Payments) says his entire remote work policy is, “Do whatever you want. As a CEO, what do I care? If you get your work done, that’s all that matters.“
Bingo. Many thoughtful executives are rejecting the notion that the number of hours you sit in a chair in front of them is how your results should be measured. It is not likely that this is the attitude that all CEOs will adopt, but it could definitely be a factor as other companies explore how business leaders are responding to what feels like could be the inevitable end of a pandemic.
(Note: Regardless of allegations against Price, prior to those allegations, he did inspire many employers to consider their position on the topic and to be sincerely flexible. It is why he is worth mentioning as a thought leader in regards to remote work.)
What to watch for next
Watch for a fracture coming to the corporate world as some CEOs will follow Zuck (let’s have distributed teams and use VR to connect!), others will follow Price (do whatever), while a growing number will require in-office work.
We’ll see the rift between the three camps widen soon, and the divide couldn’t come sooner. There are plenty of people that truly want (need) to work on-site and perform better in that environment, then there are those of us who are already sitting in the chair we’ll be sitting in regardless of who signs the paycheck.
(Find yourself working for one of these companies that no longer supports remote work? Check out these strategies for your next job search and networking!)
