Executives Say "Come Out," Employees Say "Work from Home"... Office Return 'Different Dreams' [Jjinbit]

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] "Google has returned to the office and now goes in three days a week, right? This situation will likely continue for the next 3 to 5 years, but eventually, it will return to the traditional five-day workweek."

Google started its office return this week, specifically from the 4th of this month (local time). Having worked remotely throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Google reopened its office doors. However, instead of going in every day, employees are now working in a hybrid model, coming to the office three days a week. But what does it mean that they will return to a five-day workweek?

This statement comes from Laszlo Bock, co-founder of the HR software company Humu and former Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) at Google from 2006 to 2016. According to Bloomberg on the 8th, Bock said, "Leaders have realized that exercising leadership virtually is really difficult." He predicted that as managers want to call employees back to the office, those working in hybrid arrangements will face disadvantages in performance evaluations that determine promotions and salaries, which will eventually lead to a return to a five-day office workweek.

"The office is effective," say executives urging return

Bock's remarks reflect the strong desire of executives for employees to return to the office. Jamie Dimon, Chairman of JP Morgan, who has consistently expressed opposition to remote work publicly, has said, "Remote work negatively impacts new hires and slows decision-making, which can hinder company creativity." David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs, has also claimed that "remote work is not a new standard but rather a deviation that needs immediate correction."

(Photo by Pixabay)

Eric Schmidt, former Chairman of Google, recently stated in an interview with CNBC, "It has been proven over decades that going to the office is effective," adding, "Working face-to-face together is practical." He recalled that when he led Google, he emphasized to newly hired employees who acted like they were in college, "This is not a university; this is a professional place." He said that young workers aged 25 to 35 can learn meeting etiquette, presentation skills, office politics, and how to build relationships with competitors by coming to the office.

The reason executives view remote work negatively seems to be, as Bock mentioned, that it is difficult to control employees who are not physically present, communication is hindered, and managers are confused about how to manage effectively. Executives believe that face-to-face interaction allows for exchanging ideas and making accurate and swift business decisions, whereas remote work makes it harder to hear employees' thoughts and slows situational awareness. Additionally, concerns arise that blurred boundaries between work and life reduce employee productivity, making focused office work necessary.

"Workplace and hours should be flexible" ? employees prefer remote work

So, what do employees think? Are their views similar to those of executives? According to a survey conducted by Future Forum, a consortium created by the enterprise messaging platform Slack, involving over 10,000 workers worldwide in November last year and published in January, 78% of respondents wanted flexibility in their workplace, and 95% wanted flexibility in working hours. Contrary to executives' concerns, employees responded that work-life balance, productivity, concentration, and loyalty to the company are better when working remotely or in a hybrid model than working in the office. This suggests that employees are not particularly enthusiastic about returning to the office.

(Photo by Pixabay)

Such differences in opinion by position are also clearly seen in other survey items. Among respondents, 75% of executives wanted employees to work in the office 3 to 5 days a week, but only 34% of employees agreed with this. Additionally, 44% of executives who worked remotely during the pandemic wanted to return to the previous model of daily office attendance, whereas only 17% of employees shared this view. This shows a significant difference in preference for remote work between the two groups.

Why does this phenomenon occur? Brian Elliott, Senior Vice President at Slack and head of Future Forum, analyzed that the difference in experiences between executives and employees created this gap in opinions. First, during the COVID-19 period, executives went to the office more often than employees, so they had relatively less experience with remote work. Also, executives have private spaces at the office where they can be alone and are less burdened by childcare issues compared to employees. While employees gained greater autonomy over time and space through remote or hybrid work, finding better work-life balance, executives likely had fewer positive experiences from this.

Exceptions exist: executives who favor remote work and employees who want to go to the office ? communication and experimentation are key

However, not all executives oppose remote or hybrid work. Meta, Facebook's parent company, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other executives, have moved out of Silicon Valley headquarters to Europe and the Middle East, conducting bold remote work experiments. While this is part of growing their core future business, the metaverse, the focus on "how to work" rather than "where to work" is an issue that companies worldwide should pay attention to.

(Photo by Pixabay)

At the same time, some employees express that working from home reduces their concentration and productivity, especially when combined with childcare responsibilities, and they want to return to the office. Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, has mentioned that the spread of remote work blurs the boundaries between work and life, creating psychological pressure to check emails late at night or on weekends. Nadella emphasized that to improve productivity, not only collaboration but also employee well-being is important, saying, "We need to understand what kind of stress employees are under."

The global chaos caused by COVID-19 has made change inevitable. These conflicts can be seen as transitional phenomena in the work environment. This trend is clearly visible not only overseas but also domestically. For example, a recent survey by Naver of about 4,700 headquarters employees showed that most employees preferred either five days of remote work (41.7%) or hybrid work (52.2%). Only 2.1% of employees answered that "five days a week in the office" is the optimal work style. POSCO Group has declared a return to the office. Ultimately, to find a solution that satisfies both executives and employees, active communication and various experiments will be necessary.

Editor's Note[Jjinbit] is short for 'Jeong Hyunjin's Business Trend' and 'Real Business Trend,' a corner that showcases trends in corporate management such as organizational culture and HR systems. The emergence of the MZ generation, the expansion of remote work due to COVID-19, and digital innovation all require innovation in organizational culture. Based on various overseas news and analyses that have not received much attention so far, we will deliver fresh and differentiated information and perspectives.