Is Remote Preference a Warning?

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, lots of companies were forced to move towards remote work. This has started a conversation about what will happen after the group immunity is achieved. Will we go back to the traditional offices, and work routines? Will we stay at home working remotely? Or we’ll pursue blended models?

For sure, I don’t know. For sure, this discussion raises lots of questions, both personally and company-wise. What do I prefer? What’s best for me? What’s best for my organisation? Etc. Of course the diversity of situations are enormous, and most probably there will not be an answer of “one fits all” type.

Besides speculating on what will happen, I believe that the amount of people showing preference of remote working, and pushing for it, is a huge red sign to the companies management teams. I don’t believe most of those people really wants to work remotely on the long hall, maybe a blended model or do it for some time. But in longer term the amount of excitement you can get from working remotely is much smaller than the model that envolves presencial human contact. And why do I believe so? Because that’s what we generally keep choosing for all the areas of our life (family, romance, fun, hang out, self-development, healthcare, learning, etc.) where we have the perception that we have more freedom to choose as we please.

I don’t see becoming the new normal, online discos, restaurants, bars, gardens, museums, concerts, theatres etc. I’m not saying that those may not exist, I’m saying that I don’t believe they’ll become the norm.

So, in my point of view, the most important question is what are people really saying when they push for remote work?

I believe they are saying things like:

• I don’t feel seen in my workplace.
• My motivation is poor.
• Lack of achievement sense.
• I don’t feel identified with my company culture.
• My company doesn’t care for my individual needs.
• I feel like I doesn’t matter.
• I feel imprisoned.

The problem that arises from this diagnoses is that, bottom line, the innovation capacity of companies is really at risk. Companies underlying value, the workforce, are in a struggle.

From my experience, the human being in order to feel at peace, happy, and motivated, needs to grab a sense of achievement from different life areas. No single area can fulfil in a healthy and sustainable way a person for a long time.

I don’t believe that this feelings react solely to the companies culture but also to the current society organisation.

If we look back, companies management goals have become more and more unequal growth, maximising the profit for the owners/shareholders, at the cost of people that actually do the work. Regardless of the amounts, this distance hasn’t stop growing.

If we look to it in a more humane perspective this money difference is translatable to time. Working people are giving more and more time, so the top shelves can have even more time, at the cost of their workforce quality of life.

And I’m not saying this from a communist point of view, or other political perspective, but trying to be very pragmatic about the facts. The 21st century has been probably the period of history where the time inflation rate have grew higher, which is contra-intuitive with the growth of life expectancy.

As I said at the beginning I don’t have answers or solutions, but I’m convinced that we must start the real discussion of how can companies give back time to people. And I don’t believe remote work is the answer. I believe remote work will only be the cheating escape mechanism of non fulfilling relationship, that eventually will lead to a divorce, when a new passion comes around, and create the amount of energy needed to break the fear that keeps people from go single again..