See You In September?
Labor Day has come and gone. Bye-bye, Summer and lazy days at the beach, mountains, or lake. Hello, September is back in full swing: young kids back to school, older kids off to college, and a return to work for the rest of us.
The concept of “Workplace” Changed with COVID-19
But where, exactly, is the location of the office to which we are returning? COVID-19 caused a radical rethinking of how Americans can effectively work outside of a physical office. The dramatic rise in usage of Zoom, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Monday.com and the capacity to co-edit documents meant that sitting next to office team members was no longer necessary to collaborate.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work was rare. Based on one estimate, about five percent of work days were fully remote in 2018. Remote work became the default work experience as offices across the country closed in March and April 2020. Approximately sixty percent of paid days were fully remote by May 2020. Since 2021, the share of those working remotely has been remarkably constant at just over 30 percent.
How Has the Workplace Changed Post-COVID-19?
The workplace realignment has resulted in an assortment of ways employees get the job done – between remote work, in-office work, and a hybrid of the two. Large companies like Apple, JP Morgan Chase, Google, Goldman Sachs, Disney, Morgan Stanley, and Twitter have mandated a weekly return to the office for at least 3-4 days. Every company, regardless of size, has had to confront addressing two fundamental issues about the post-COVID office environment:
What is best for the business?
What is best for the people?
A quick review of the post-COVID arrangements made by Slater Success clients has varied, and you might find it interesting.
One of our clients had a large office for its staff where everyone was coming in daily but has now downsized to a small office with their team mostly virtual and a couple of offices the team can use when they choose to come in. There is a conference room for team meetings and gatherings.
Others feel strongly about the value of in-person collaboration, so in-office is the rule of thumb. One national company I have worked with found it interesting that most offices in various parts of the country wanted to return to the office, yet the New York office resisted and is more hybrid than in-person.
A large female-owned law firm that has been around for ten years was built on a virtual platform yet still insists the partners gather at least quarterly in each office region in-person.
As already mentioned, JP Morgan has instituted a return-to-the-office policy. CEO Jamie Dimon has carved out a strong leadership position on the issue, asking Managing Directors to work from the office five days a week.
Jamie Dimon reasons:
"Our leaders play a critical role in reinforcing our culture and running our businesses. They have to be visible on the floor, they must meet with clients, they need to teach and advise, and they should always be accessible for immediate feedback and impromptu meetings."
The Slater Success Workplace post-COVID19
The Slater Success team spans the globe with team members in various areas from New York City, North Carolina, one team member who migrated to Panama several years ago, and some new team members who have joined us from the Philippines. We lean into how people work best – together. We have weekly team meetings on Zoom and stay connected through Slack. We also have virtual retreats several times a year.
The connective tissue of any workplace is its people. We think we buy “brands,” but people do business with people, and great business gets done only through people.
Welcome back to September in full swing!
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