Should I stay or should I go?
If I go, there will be trouble.
And if I stay, it will be double.
There we were, thinking hybrid working was the new norm, here to stay, and work-life balance was no longer a nadir. What were we dreaming of, when presenteeism is clearly alive and kicking?
Recent, loudly proclaimed directives to have everyone back in the office five days per week suggest not everyone trusts us to get on with our work when out of sight. I appreciate that of course it is more than just trust: how do you imbue a culture, train the younger staff, collaborate effectively, but when it comes down to it we have had a sea-change in our working habits, and it is going to be hard to give that up.
Research suggests that flexible working is more than just desirable, it has become a requirement of top-talent. Our own Office Worker Surveys at Remit Consulting support this finding, with a clear majority of respondents saying they would definitely consider moving jobs if full week office attendance were mandated.
The UK government, along with other European leaders, is bringing in legal obligations on employers to actively consider requests for flexible working from day one, yet in the States, where their general approach to employee welfare is archaic, it is apparently okay to say ‘step up or shut up’.
I am baffled as to how a society so hell-bent on litigation will still roll over for just two weeks’ holiday (just the norm, not even an entitlement), twelve weeks’ maternity leave (unpaid and only legislated if you work for a company with more than 50 employees), and now a get-back-to-your-desks directive. No ambulance chasers in sight, either!
We get a lot of things wrong in the UK, but a more malleable approach to flexible working (see what I did there?) should ultimately result in a happier and more productive workforce; our own research supports this theory. Experts are already predicting push-back and greater absenteeism to spring from the latest Amazon diktat.
So come on and let them know, should they cool it or should they blow…?