The Anniversary Blog
Last week’s Wednesday Words was a “Classic” due to my absence celebrating my 20th Wedding Anniversary. Thanks to many who had posted their best wishes. By strange happenstance, there are lots of Anniversaries and significant events happening this month and next. Between Birthdays, Graduations and upcoming Summer Vacations, there’s another less exciting Anniversary happening; the First Anniversary of many Working From Home (WFH).
I have to give credit where credit is due, thanks to my Colleague Ron Jones for breaking the log-jam of my writers block this week. It wasn’t that I didn’t have anything to write. Quite the contrary. It was the problem of too much to write and no clear place to begin. Enter Ron. I like to think that my network helps me see into the future, or at least around the next corner. But at this point in time its worth a little reflection.
So it was approximately this time last year that many professionals who commuted and worked in offices, headquarters or downtown districts were told to go home for their own safety due to the pandemic. What we saw from that point on was a series of “kick-the-can” moments. As the pandemic raged on no one, even today, could get much of a sense of when it would be safe to return to the office. But a funny thing happened along the way, work still got done.
What’s that you say? Yes, we proved out the whole “working remote” thing in a full throttle example. No day here or there or hybrid approaches, just a 100% no take-backs work from home schedule. We even saw a rise in learning as people gravitated quickly to learning how to set-up home offices, wifi, VPN’s, and webcams over high-speed internet.
One of the questions I posed back in May of last year was the potential of a looming ergonomic crisis. Well, for the seasoned Wednesday Words readers you’ll appreciate knowing that yet again this blog was ahead of its time. Just this week the Wall Street Journal is posing the very question of ergo issues and injuries due to the prolonged stay at home orders.
But at this point for our Anniversary Blog we’ll go a bit further. It’s been said that habits can be formed in about 21 days if done repeatably. Well, at 12 months and counting we’re fully entrenched into the Work From Home Habit for many. That’s not to say that working remote is for everyone. Back to Ron. As we discussed various topics and landed on the WFH Anniversary, he expressed hearing from many of his professional contacts a growing frustration in their employers stance on returning to their offices.
Now recall my mention of the “kick-the-can” approach along with the Grand Experiment of WFH. Interestingly enough, the two combined have created not just a new habit for many, but a confirmation of what we thought, that work CAN be done remotely. The frustration from some Ron mentioned was from Professionals being told to return for no other reason than “because.” What I find interesting at this point is that we’ve moved into a new and unknown realm of Professionalism.
This new boundless realm is working for some and causing issues for others. When we consider the changes that have occurred over the past year with Offices, Business Travel, Business Attire and Flexible Hours, are we really so naive to think things can go back to the way they were before? Lately I’ve been seeing a ton of articles that are attempting to generate a buzz around the term “Hybrid” workplace. Somewhat of a middle ground from the Pre to Post Pandemic workplace.
As the Hybrid Workplace ramps up, I’m also seeing “Human Centered” as another term being sprinkled around. Which begs the question, can we have a “Human Centered-Hybrid” workplace? If we’ve proven that work can be done remotely and the employee prefers to stay remote and be judged on their productivity, why is coming into the office necessary? Herein lies the frustration that Ron mentioned.
I truly believe we’re at the point where the relationship between employer and employee needs to be revisited. This is definitely beyond the last trend of ping-pong tables and craft beer in the break rooms. Of course, this is going to shake up many external factors that include Corporate Real Estate (how much is necessary and where) along with infrastructure factors such as equipment and work-spaces.
On the last point of work-spaces, I want to tie it back to the Wall Street Journal and a point I raised last year; ergonomics. Let’s say for the sake of argument that WFH is a new permanent reality for many. What obligations do companies have to equip a home office? If they’re not filling large offices with desks and cubicles can they develop a new model?
I previously posed the idea of “Home Office in a Box.” I’m happy to report that some pioneer vendors have actually taken this very idea into reality. The concept is that instead of an office in a centralized location, employees would receive key items to allow for a safe and productive work environment. Key to this being, a standing desk, quality ergonomic chair and monitor stand(s). This of course would be provided to the employee with no expectation of recouping the equipment.
In an attempt to wrap this up I’ll say “Happy Anniversary!” Not quite the type we look forward to celebrating, but more the type that acknowledges the passage of time. Its clear there’s a growing frustration tied to the indecision of returning to offices for multiple reasons. Couple this with a reprioritization of “Human Centered” needs and we might have the makings of a Professional Revolution. It will definitely be interesting to see what things look like a year from now.