By Erik Skindrud, InfoWise.org

Gaps remain between American workers’ expectations and the in-office goals of many U.S. organizations. This spring, a doggedly-uncertain coronavirus outlook also clouds return-to-office plans for many businesses. 

But even if the BA.2 variant — and COVID in general — were to vanish in 2022, the way Americans work has been transformed by the pandemic, a group of human resources professionals interviewed for this article say. What’s more, some form of remote work will likely become the new normal for many employees who formerly showed up at offices.

“Work-life balance is no longer the lens people are looking through — it’s life-work balance,” said Wesley Gwisdala, recently chief human resources officer at Providence, a nationwide health system with more than 120,000 employees. “With the pandemic, people now understand — and expect — that life comes first.”

Many traditional organizations are rapidly moving to implement remote work, Gwisdala added.

“Big companies that were traditionally office-based, like GE, General Motors and others, are trying to figure out how to do this right now,” Gwisdala said. “They know they need to draw talent from outside of the 30-mile zone that surrounds their offices to be competitive.”

Multiple surveys show that American workers pushed off-site by the pandemic are reluctant to return to the office. Boston.com, website of the Boston Globe newspaper, this month found 65 percent of respondents preferring remote work. 

“Working from home is how it really should be,” one respondent said. “No commute, your own bathroom, no one being loud or rude around you, and you can eat lunch whenever you want.”

A similar survey by the Flexjobs online platform found 58 percent of respondents favoring full-remote policies. 

Results are more stark in a large survey conducted by business-efficiency consultant Future Forum — recently summarized in the New York Times. It found 83 percent of white-collar, or “knowledge workers” preferring remote or hybrid work. What’s more, 97 percent of Black employees in the category want a fully-remote future, with the corresponding number for white workers 79 percent. Interestingly, women rank work-life balance as their top career priority, while men value money more, a Gallup poll released this month reveals.

U.S. workers are newly-aligned behind remote work, and employers will likely follow. But the advantages of home-based offices may extend beyond win-win status. The balance sheet, in fact, suggests a win-win, win-win-win for workers, employers, HR managers, the environment, traffic engineers, and wellness outcomes. (More on these in a future article.)

Apple’s and Microsoft’s drives to return workers to corporate settings were met with resistance. Many smaller organizations are also struggling as policies butt heads with worker preferences. The gap is due, at least in part, to traditional expectations many senior managers retain. But these notions are evolving, said Sandy Crawford, a career coach based in Orange County, Calif.  

“Workers have demonstrated (during the pandemic) that work can be done efficiently and effectively outside of a traditional office setting,” Crawford explained. “Employers are (now) considering the benefits associated with a remote work force, such as reduced facility costs, employee retention and the ability to recruit talent outside of their immediate market.”

Employees who prefer remote work have options as they pursue their career and life-balance goals. Quitting is an option, but workers who feel aligned with their organizations, or simply like their coworkers, might pursue a subtler, more strategic approach. 

Trust-building is a route that bears fruit for workers and managers alike, said Matthew McElrath, who has served as chief human resources officer for Keck Medicine of USC, Arizona State University, and in senior HR capacities with other organizations. 

“Numerous studies have shown that remote workers are equally or more productive than their on-site colleagues,” McElrath said. “However, if the organization culture is distrustful of the workforce, managers, regardless of policy, will demand employees return to the workplace for close monitoring.”

But this knee-jerk approach ends up hurting organizations — when talent preempts executive decisions, he added. 

“The shame in this approach is that… ultimately, employees with a choice in the marketplace will let their preferences be known by leaving,” McElrath said. “It is not a choice between on-site and remote. It’s about providing employees flexibility.”

A worker facing this dilemma should be honest with supervisors, stating their expectations while being ready to leave if consensus doesn’t materialize. Be firm but collegial, and don’t fear the outcome of a high-stakes poker hand. The job market remains talent-friendly. On the other hand, transitioning workers should understand that demand for fully-remote jobs is higher now than for traditional office roles. 

“A clear indicator of the continued employee desire to work remote is to to compare the number of applicants for ‘remote only’ roles vs ‘in person’ roles,” HR manager McElrath stated. “It’s now roughly a 10-1 difference. This market pressure will continue to influence companies to modify on-site expectations.”

And, as workers and organizations move together, other aspects of the American workplace will continue to evolve, noted Gwisdala, the former Providence CHRO.

“Organizations across the country are expanding their conception of diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, widening them to add the letter B — for belonging,” Gwisdala said. “Moving forward, employers will be striving to ensure that their diverse workforces feel like they belong to an organization. 

“And that means prioritizing what workers want and need — including remote and hybrid work policies.”

Photo: Samson Katt/Pexels