BBC: HSBC leaving iconic Canary Wharf building as part of transition to flexible working: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-66019180 #flexiblework

Ha ha ha

#returnToOffice #RTO #remoteWork #flexibleWork

https://www.tiktok.com/@techroastshow/video/7272945314699545899

Cities (and self-absorbed CEOs) are going to do their darndest to get people to commute daily again, but I suspect it’s not going to work. The moment the market tips in favor of the employee, I think you will see #remoteWork #flexibleWork become a primary factor when employees choose their next job.

IMO the Commercial Real Estate apocalypse is inevitable, because there are enough employers (typically small to mid-sized companies) who do *not* have real estate investments, who will soak up workers when the fear of inflation lifts again. People *will* leave their jobs to reclaim their time. They *will* take a smaller salary and relocate to a city more to their liking. Companies *will* eventually stop renewing their office leases because it’s (duh) cheaper to go remote.

City leaders can’t prevent CRE collapse by mandating commuting. Short of throwing bags of money (whose money?) at workers, all things being equal, people would prefer to have their lives back than commute.

And that’s a good thing.

@robby1066 It’s a culture thing, and like all culture, it can be changed.

When I was at my previous company, this bias played out *constantly*. During a meeting, any face on the video screen is essentially ignored, and pity the audio-only voice who dialed in: they would need to shout for 10 seconds to get a word in edgewise (I was that person).

A culture steeped in daily office presence will inevitably show biases in favor of physical presence. A company that wants to embrace #FlexibleWork must have leaders who consciously fight that bias. During meetings, I constantly scan for faces and voices who seem disengaged or disenfranchised, and I purposely call on them to voice their opinions.

Fortunately, many large companies are now geographically distributed, and proximity bias has been eroded even before the Lockdown Years made remote work the norm. So I have hope that there is enough momentum for change.

@robby1066 Don’t get me wrong: I *love* meeting people face to face. I *do* think that in-person collaboration is incredibly high-bandwidth and difficult to fully reproduce online. But I want to travel to meet people *with intent*. I do not want to *mindlessly* spend time in traffic just to sit my butt down in a chair in an office all day.

Truth be told, with the geographic spread that some large companies have, “colocation” is largely a myth. Half my teammates are not in the same city, and every “meeting” is a videoconference, even on in-office days. Even people in the same office campus need to *plan* to meet, if the facility is big enough.

All this is to say that #FlexibleWork, not Hybrid, is probably the best answer. Divest most of your office spaces except for some shared areas that people can *intentionally* reserve for colocated work, and let workers decide when to commute and when to work remotely.

News flash that should surprise nobody: studies show that employees do not like #ReturnToOffice.

This is a down time for desk workers as it has become fashionable for large companies to shed as many employees as they possibly can. But the day will return when companies need to rehire, and the conversation around #FlexibleWork and #RemoteWork will become salient once again.

People who relocated away from expensive metro areas thanks to the pandemic lockdowns are now *commuting* in to the office for mandated RTO; they are not *relocating* back near their work. You can bet these folks are waiting for the chance to accept a remote position elsewhere when the market picks up.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/now-finding-damaging-results-mandated-095555463.html

How does intellectually demanding work fit into a fixed working time model? Not at all, if you ask our colleague Felix, because a brain is not something you can just switch on and off as needed. #RemoteWork #FlexibleWork
https://www.bevuta.com/en/blog/interview-felix-remote-work-with-own-biorhythms/

Ich bin froh, dass mein #arbeitgeber bereits vor 20 Jahren auf die #KlimaKrise reagiert hat und auf #Energiefresser #Klimaanlage verzichtete. Dank, #flexiblework kann ich früh gehen, bevor mein Gehirn Matsch ist. Das klingt sarkastisch, aber tatsächlich bin ich froh.

Wie passen intellektuell anspruchsvolle Arbeiten in ein festes Arbeitszeitmodell? Gar nicht, findet unser Kollege Felix, denn der Kopf lässt sich nicht nach Bedarf an- und ausschalten. #RemoteWork #FlexibleWork
https://www.bevuta.com/de/blog/interview-felix-remote-arbeiten-im-eigenen-biorhythmus

Exposing the Fearful Motivation for Anti-Remote Work Propaganda -- Why the legacy CEOs must find the courage to answer this question, and why their misinformation campaign will fail. https://bit.ly/3PrmcTU
#FlexibleWork #RemoteWork #FearOfChange #CEO

Wie passen intellektuell anspruchsvolle Arbeiten in ein festes Arbeitszeitmodell? Gar nicht, findet unser Kollege Felix, denn der Kopf lässt sich nicht nach Bedarf an- und ausschalten. #RemoteWork #FlexibleWork
https://www.bevuta.com/de/blog/interview-felix-remote-arbeiten-im-eigenen-biorhythmus

Then there are the days when you work from your bed with the napping sick kid next to you because you are worried about their breathing. #pediatrician appt this afternoon. Poor kid has been feeling like poo since Friday. It’s days like today that show the necessity of having #flexiblework environments. If families are going to fully participate in life, the environment must support them doing so.

#sickkid #momlife #workfromhome #parenthood #parentsupport

Flexibility in work hours may not always lead to increased job satisfaction. A recent study suggests that working non-standard hours can reduce intrinsic motivation, leading to concerns about missing out on other activities. However, considering the benefits of flexible work and connecting with co-workers can help mitigate the downsides. Remember, with flexibility comes trade-offs. #FlexibleWork #JobSatisfaction #WorkLifeBalance
https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-want-work-weekend-11651256000?mod=article_inline

A Nonlinear Workday Might Help You Be More Productive [asynchronous schedule]
--
https://www.fastcompany.com/90847103/how-nonlinear-workday-help-get-more-done <-- shared article
--
https://about.gitlab.com/company/culture/all-remote/non-linear-workday/ <-- ‘technical’ description & discussion, GitHub
--
[I am fortunate that my schedule is asynchronous, and I much appreciate the opportunities it presents - BUT recognise that I can't be 'greedy' / 'selfish', remembering any high priority work commitments during 'standard hours' MUST be respected]
#workday #asynchronous #schedule #WFH #workfromhome #work #experience #people #health #opportunities #productivity #creativity #nonlinear #workday #remotework #workschedule #worker #flexibleworking #flexiblework

As leaders continue to call for the #ReturnToOffice, new data shows #workers at companies with #FlexibleWork policies—where #RemoteWork is welcome and #employees have the opportunity to go to an office—say the compromise is working. Employees with flexible work models surveyed by #FutureForum were 57% more likely to say their company #culture has improved over the past two years compared to fully in-person workers—citing flexible work policies as the primary reason their culture is improving.

I wish we could all have this option.

For those working full-time, only having 2 days off a week to physically and mentally recharge after a 5 day work week can be very challenging. It's almost never enough for me.

#WorkerRights #economy #MentalHealth #FlexibleWork #FlexWork

https://www.wsj.com/articles/after-testing-four-day-week-companies-say-they-dont-want-to-stop-a06089cc

From Bloomberg - World’s largest four-day work week trial finds few are going back and about one in six employees in the study said no amount of money would convince them to return to five days a week.

#FutureOfWork #HumanResources #PeopleAndCulture #FourDayWorkFeek #FlexibleWork

https://bloom.bg/3Epmfti

Future of Work: Andy Jassy, Amazon CEO, believes that substantive change is too difficult, but the status quo is relatively easy. Here's his Return-to-Office message for employees. https://buff.ly/3lzgQsX - #leadership #flexiblework #innovation #trends

Working with flexible timing has been great for the past year, but the only downside is the uncertainty of when someone else might go offline. #FlexibleWork #WorkFromHome #RemoteWork #Productivity

Did you already register for today's hybrid #DiPLab seminar with ILO senior economist Janine Berg? Starting at 3:30PM CET, it will showcase ILO's upcoming flagship report on essential work & work from home in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. More info here👉 https://diplab.eu/janine-berg-guest-of-our-monthly-diplab-seminar-wed-15-february-2023-330pm-cet/ #work #futureofwork #flexiblework #EssentialWorkers #ilo #remotework #workfromhome #seminars #experttalk