The spirited debate in Atlanta never created a vote! No surprise! No “winning” side! How could one intelligently pose a question which would ask attendees to determine whether employees are leaving “the office” in increasing numbers or coming back into the office in even larger numbers? It’s a bit like asking whether the tide comes in or out.
The evidence is mounting that the number of companies who embrace mobility in the workplace is increasing and the numbers of individuals within companies who embrace mobility is also rising. It is also true to say that as these programs become more pervasive so an increasing number of situations emerge in which managers catching wind of the increasing mobility within their organizations become anxious and start calling employees back into the office.
I have two reactions to this. One is good…the other, what a shame! I sigh when I hear that managers are insisting on full-time present for the wrong reasons: control, tradition and an absolute lack of knowledge of how their teams are actually working. I strongly applaud however those situations where managers are prepared to back-up insistence on face-to-face engagement with process changes, new ideas on teamwork, and demand new technology and space platforms to better leverage the benefits of togetherness.
Agile teamwork is proving to be a boon for productivity that has expanded well beyond its software focused origins. Speed and quality have both benefitted from the total immersion of team members and the advantages that accrue from eye-contact, overhearing each other, and the bonds of common deliverables and deadlines.
Attempts to artificially draw people back into the office without a thoughtful plan as to how they are supposed to act, rarely work. Employees become frustrated, disengaged and often continue to just ignore the call.
But surely, this is not “one or the other”. There are times when togetherness is warranted and times when place is irrelevant. Let it be!
Chris Hood