Elon Musk made more news headlines recently when he told those who wanted to continue working from home that they should pretend to work somewhere else.
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1531867103854317568
- elonmusk
Working remotely might no longer be an option.
But this is overwhelmingly what employees are looking for today. Other companies have made the switch permanent already for working from home, but for others it might not be that easy.
Various surveys indicate that more than half of remote workers, perhaps some 64% or more of workers, would quit their job before returning to the office.
There are benefits to remote work but there are also some reasons why employers might want their workers to return to the office.
Some articles have highlighted the strange and unusual activities that people have been enjoying while working from home throughout the pandemic and these include:
These are some activities that you might have found people doing even back at the office though too, it isn't unusual for people to use their phones or check their social media etc.
But some might be doing it without their employers consent and if the employer were to find out and doesn't want his employees doing that activity then that should be understandable, even if it is annoying. It is their choice to make and if the boss isn't paying employees to make memes and be on Facebook then doing that might be something they view as theft, because someone is being paid to do something that they aren't doing.
That's not only gas cost and time but further costs on the car too, and no most aren't giving out gas vouchers and company cars to try and offset those costs for their workers. The cost is coming directly out of the salary and can easily be hundreds of dollars an employee is paying each month (not including time) just to get to their job.
With all of the technology we have available today this seems like an unnecessary and archaic concept in situations where work from home would be completely suitable.
If the work can be done just as well if not better remotely then employers should seek to do that for their employees give them that value, make them happy and they might be surprised to find out how long they are willing to stay and dedicate themselves to the company.
Each individual case and circumstance is different. It would be foolish to assume that all individuals working from home are staying on task and not doing things they shouldn't, just as it would be foolish to assume no individual could operate more efficient and productive when working from home rather than the office. Individuals thrive in different environments and that work from home remote situation affords a lot of valuable flexibility today to employees and those places will have a higher priority in the job market.
Remote jobs are going to continue to see that demand and easily attract employees, whereas physical office locations might be struggling to maintain that team.
Pics:
pixabay
pic 2 via Twitter
Sources:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/pretend-to-work-somewhere-else-elon-musk-reportedly-tells-tesla-staff-working-remotely-is-no-longer-an-option-11654080247
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/careers/article-50-remote-workers-quitting-office-return/
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/28/64percent-of-workers-would-consider-quitting-if-asked-to-return-to-office-full-time.html
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/work-from-home-secrets-kept-from-bosses_l_618d561ae4b04e5bdfcd27c4
