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Why Jobs Want Us Back in the Office
We’re going from hybrid to 5 day workweeks, even if it isn’t for the best
Amazon recently announced that their employees must return to the office five days a week, ending their hybrid work policy. This is only part of a widespread trend, with one survey finding that 80% of CEOs plan to end hybrid work.
The benefits of working from home are clear: better health, moods, and job satisfaction. It’s better for the environment, reducing the amount of commuting that workers have to do. And one study found that hybrid work is just as productive as 100% in-office work.
So why is it ending?
A cynical reason may be that ending hybrid policies allows companies to do a “soft layoff” — encouraging people to quit by making work a little more miserable. That’s entirely possible, but companies must know that with this method, they risk losing many of their best employees to other companies.
Another potential reason I hear is that companies want to justify paying for an office building. I haven’t seen true data to support that, and it doesn’t seem to explain many companies want workers to work five days in the office, instead of three or four.
Instead, managers truly may find it hard to connect with remote employees. People…
