Fascinating article I just finished about the impending battle between companies and employees regarding Work From Home (WFH). 83% of CEO's want to see their employees return to the office full time while 90% of workers would prefer to continue a WFH schedule.
Regardless of who wins out (which I don't think is an either/or) I do believe this is going to be a competitive advantage in the job candidate market for organizations who make a point to evaluate the last 15 months, what worked and didn't work, and come up with solutions to attract and retain the top employees.
I shared with my network on LinkedIn and got some phenomenal feedback:
Matt Sikich: "A logical compromise that I personally am hearing come from quite a few clients is a hybrid model where workers essentially "hotel" office space a few days a week at their employer's location and WFH the remainder of the time...If you can't trust and employee to get the job done in more of a "hands off" setting, you've either hired the wrong employee, or in my humble opinion, you have a management/leadership issue at play."
Jeff Raker: "What does a business gain and what do they lose in either scenario? I've been challenging people with the question "What do you believe about people?" If I believe people are seeking to get away with as much as possible, then that might determine where I land on the WFH question."
Tony Fowler: "While I may fall into the ‘back to the office’ camp for myself, I believe companies are going to need strong evidence to justify making that a requirement. IMO, the power is shifting to the worker and the leaders that can find the right balance will be the winners. While #sportsbiz is inherently live in many cases, there are plenty of roles that can be effective and successful in WFH - especially if the individual values that approach.
What I believe may be the most surprising outcome of the last 15 months is the amount of job switching - individuals voluntarily leaving even in the midst of historically significant unemployment - moving to companies that will allow them to work in the way they prefer. The next 6 months should be telling!"
Patty Raube Keller Ed.D: "I think in the sport industry there needs to be a balance. When I worked NCAA D2 I worked from home on Friday mornings. I accomplished more "work" during those 4 hours than I did all week, however my work all week was interacting with coaches and student-athletes which was part of my job. I just never had time to sit down and do my administrative work. In college athletics part of your job is being there in person for the student-athletes because they are not going to work from home! I do believe there should be an opportunity given for sport industry employees to also work from home due to the late nights and working 7 days a week."
