A letter to the remote worker

I was dropping my son to school this morning and noticed a lot of people preparing to go to work on a Saturday – waiting at bus stops, driving etc and was drawn towards the remote/hybrid working conversation.

There’s a lot being said about hybrid working and who has how much say in it. Some of the uproar may be justified, while some of it may be an expression of entitlement. I have had the privilege of working in a hybrid/flexible mode for many years now. Prior to being self-employed, I was in a global role and the organisation was supportive of remote work where it was relevant. I am grateful I’ve had that experience and today, value my freedom and space immensely.

McKinsey’s 2023 workforce report claims that nearly 80% of workers globally prefer working in a hybrid mode. This has increased from 2021-22, while organisations are starting to make a U-turn on the ‘we’ll be remote forever’ policies which were brandished with great pride during the pandemic.

With the health concerns triggered by the pandemic, care giving is a need that almost every family is affected by. Most often, it is women who bear the most of this responsibility – for elders, children, other family members and from what’s left of it, their own self. A lot of men I know are also doing the same (and sadly, not acknowledged enough).

Remote working gave them the space to manage their jobs and their care giving duties. Therefore, companies asking people to come back may seem insensitive when viewed from that perspective. Additionally, when this demand is pushed forward by managers or cultures prone to micromanagement, it feels a lot worse.

It can feel as though the whole ‘return to work’ noise is drummed up by ineffective managers trying to desperately to salvage their own jobs.

There’s research to support that too - only 27% managers feel they are capable of leading hybrid teams (DDI Talent Survey, 2023).

Shifting focus here…

Among other groceries, I bought some biscuits yesterday. They were made here in Bangalore and most likely involved people working with material and machinery in a factory that probably runs in three shifts.

Take a moment now to picture a worker in the first shift, which may start at 6 am.

Who did you see?

Male or female?

How old?

Do they have children or elders at home?

Are all of them healthy?

This is the time to remind ourselves that remote or hybrid mode of working is an option available only to a section of industries and roles that are completely technology enabled. There are millions of workers who have either had to lose their income completely during the pandemic or put themselves in great risk to show up at work. From the cooks and housemaids at home to people in armed forces, manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality – there are numerous sectors (more than half of the world's workforce, actually).

It would be naïve and unjust to assume that these people haven’t been affected by the pandemic; that they don’t face the same care-giving responsibilities that we (who work remotely) do.

Therefore, while it is reasonable to ask for flexibility and understanding from organisations, treating it as a justified, fair entitlement is perhaps, insensitive in itself.

Besides, showing up at the office and simply connecting with people in person will definitely have a significant, positive impact on our overall mental health, resourcefulness and sense of belonging. There’s another study that points to nearly a 50% decline in social skills at the workplace today. So, regardless of the organisation’s agenda to bring you back, today, you need the benefits of social connection more than ever.

Equally, organisations need to look at the hybrid, healing (and still hurting) world with kindness.

If technology has enabled some industries to work in a remote mode, they may want to rethink why they are calling people back into the office. Citing productivity as a reason will hide the real problems and exacerbate employee disengagement as it already has. The real issues may be around designing more effective systems, better enabling managers to deal with a world that has irrefutably changed. If return to work is purely a cost-driven decision, being honest about it is probably the best bet. Anything else will trigger more cynicism and no inspiring rhetoric will work.

As an employee, if your organisation is offering you a hybrid mode of working and you are insisting on staying 100% remote, you might want to remember that not everyone in the world has that option. There are people around us who have never had the ‘remote’ option because it never existed for them. What’s more, you and I are silently consuming the fruits of their labour every day without ever acknowledging the sacrifices they’ve been making.

This is not about taking one side or another, but an attempt to broaden the conversation to get a better perspective of our world. When we understand the problems of others, we get a realistic view of our own. In becoming vulnerable ourselves, we understand the vulnerabilities of others. That’s how we practice gratitude.

We can no longer say, “That’s their problem, we can’t help it if they are stuck in such a job.” If you catch yourself saying that, you are part of the problem.

If anything, returning to the workplace for a few days of the week could be our way of acknowledging all those people who never had that option. In making some sacrifices ourself, we are sharing some of the hardships of the voices that are silent in this conversation. It won’t be easy and will most certainly involve a lot of difficult decisions, but what if we start with this question:

What makes me deserve WFH more than someone who never had it?