The debate on remote vs in office is over.

Time to Read: ~2.5 minutes

The push and pull between remote work and in-office work is an example of what happens when we are working toward change and progress. Change is not something we just wake up one day and decide to do (well, not when we’re changing an entire structure).

In past labor movements, there was push and pull. Progress is an uphill battle. And sadly, building more accessibility and equality into the way that we work is too, an uphill battle. 

The remote versus in-office debate is a part of a (growing) labor movement. It’s been growing for awhile. After enduring a once in a lifetime pandemic under immense stress, people were able to evaluate priorities and ways of being. That labor movement is here, it’s now. We have the incredible opportunity to contribute to rebuilding the workplace collaboratively, with people and for them. Doesn’t that sound exciting? To be at the forefront of change? 

There is something so wonderfully beautiful about flexible, remote work.

It has the opportunity to help build more equality into the workforce and build up economies beyond the over-saturated hub cities, creating more opportunity, reducing the stress on large cities, and diversifying trade and industry throughout more geographies, among other positive outcomes. It allows folks to enter the workforce who previously may not have been able to participate - whether that is for geographical reasons, accessibility reasons, due to other responsibilities such as being a caregiver for loved ones, or several others that don’t even come to mind until it’s you or your employee needing an accommodation to work remotely. 

The thing is, the office vs. remote debate doesn’t need to be a debate.

It shouldn’t be. Besides the fact that we’ve actually had remote work for decades*, we have so many other things we could be spending our time debating. One doesn’t need to be better than the other. This is not a competition. It all comes down to individuals’ unique experiences and what works best for them as an individual. For some, that will mean the office, for others, it will mean remote. And heck, sometimes it’ll mean the office on Monday, and remote on Tuesday, and we’ll see what happens on Wednesday. As individuals, we should be able to take ownership of how we work best as our lives ebb and flow. And it’s about time that leaders with power start leading and designing collaboratively, especially if they want to successfully shepherd their organizations into the future (and especially if they want to continue to be relevant leaders.) 

If someone can vote for the next president and sign up to go to war, they can also discern where they are most productive**. And if you don’t think so, then help them do so***. Historically, the workplace was not designed by a diverse set of individuals. It didn’t and hasn’t taken into account the lived experiences of people from several different demographics - geography, gender, socioeconomics, race, age, disability, neurodiversity, and so on. It was designed by predominantly able-bodied, straight, white, male leaders - or, the majority in most industries (yes, still to this day.)****

Rather than debating with one another about where individuals are most productive, why aren’t we asking them? Why aren’t we redesigning work to align with the current and future workforce? Why aren’t we building for resiliency, for continuity? Wouldn’t that make the most sense? 

This post, if anything, is a call to action. Please, end the debate. We can design better if we design together. So let’s design a new way.

Want to talk about the future of work, collaboration, inclusion, and culture, or just want to jam-sesh for a few? Contact me here. 

*A quick note; I have always worked in remote and/or hybrid environments and in fact, remote work helped get one of my organizations through Hurricane Sandy, remote work is a business continuity plan, aka it is more disaster-proof, and yes, we got shit done and exceptionally well even under intense circumstances such as a disastrous hurricane.

**Additionally recent research shows that organizations with flexible remote work structures outperform on revenue growth. There are several reasons behind this and while this shouldn’t be the only reason to adopt flexibility, it will surely help the negotiation.

***Why don’t we help develop folks' understanding of how they perform best earlier on? What are our preferred learning styles? Do we prefer working alone or in teams? How do we receive feedback best? We can begin this sort of teaching during educational years and integrate it into workplace professional development. 

****If you have a knee-jerk reaction to that statement, I humbly suggest taking time for reflection before reaction. Lean into curiosity and ask a variety of people in your network if they think that their workplace was designed with them in mind. Ask questions to learn and to understand. Remain curious and set aside some time to listen and reflect.