Are executives looking backwards in going forwards?

A very interesting article to read, particularly given that any jobs adverts I have recently seen are either for fully remote working roles, or hybrid working roles i.e. a mix between office and home. 

Whilst executives may want to seek to exert control over their workforce and demand a 100% return to to the office to return to what they consider to be the "norm", or to justify expensive offices, I can't see that this will be the approach taken in all sectors. 

Most employees will say, if asked, that they value the flexibility of hybrid working over other benefits. 

With the cost of living crisis and the rise in inflation, employees are grateful that they do not have to pay the ever increasing commuter costs (including rising fuel costs) to travel to work every day. It also means that they can do a school pick-up or drop off and therefore value the better work-life balance that they now have.

Some employers have fully embraced remote working and have either closed some of their office space so that not all the workforce can be in the office at any one time, or they have closed their offices completely and require employees to work solely from home. 

What I can see happening is that there will become a two-tier way of working with certain employers or even sectors requiring 100% office based working and others not.  

For those sectors that do decide to go backwards going forwards, this could lead to employees deciding that it is time for a career change. 

Where employers seek to enforce a 100% return to the office with the threat of bonuses not being paid or linking pay or promotions to those who come into the office, this could lead to a rise in claims for discrimination and equal pay. 

And what about the Greener Agenda? The International Energy Agency has previously stated that flexible working would have a positive effect. It estimated that if all office workers worked from home for one day a week, it would save 1% of global oil consumption for road passenger transport each year. It said that even when factoring in the increase in energy use by employees in their homes, this would still result in an annual decline of 24 million tonnes, the equivalent to most of Greater London’s annual CO₂ emissions.

I could go on listing various benefits and advantages that hybrid working has. Obviously if an employee is not performing properly or not even carrying out the work that they should be from home, their is a valid argument to require an employee to come into the office to do the job they are employed and paid to do. However, where corporates profits are soaring and employee performance is up, the saying 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it" comes to mind.