Both Musk and Adams want workers to come back to the office. Last week, a reporter observed that Musk opens the door to a talent exodus.
Some of the nearly 100,000 people employed at the electric carmaker may already be considering their options, after Musk issued them with a return-to-office ultimatum this week. In an email sent to staff Tuesday night, Musk threatened to fire anyone who did not work in the office 40 hours a week, a stark contrast to flexibility offered by Big Tech companies that compete for the same talent pool.
It is possible to meet Musk’s requirement in three long workdays, and I assume most of his people work more than 40 hours a week. Not everyone works for Musk is a tech worker. He believes that live human contact and three dimensions of interaction are better than two dimensions for effective organizational communication. Coming to the office facilitates management for Musk. The agenda of Mayor Adams is different. He wants New York’s office towers to be filled with workers so that the city can regain its economic dynamism. It’s possible that returning to the office will present the same challenges as New York. According to Elizabeth Kim, of the Gothamist.
Mayor Eric Adams continues to insist that municipal office employees work in person as the city continues its economic recovery, but he signaled for the first time that he may allow a limited amount of remote work once the pandemic ends… Most city employees have been working from home since last September, although a small number have been granted requests to work from home. According to the Independent Budget Office, attrition levels in the city’s workforce have been high. In early May, the IBO counted 282,000 full-time employees, a 6% drop compared to pre-pandemic days, when the city’s workforce stood at over 300,000.”
Some jobs need physical presence. Others are best performed in person. Some jobs can be done anywhere. In the days before the internet, I had to go to the library to conduct literature and document research and to the office to write. I had to go to a computer center to do the data analysis. I can do that work from anywhere with an internet connection and a place to plug in my laptop. For many forms of education, face-to-face contact is better than online education because of the Pandemic.
I think that presence is important for communication. A message can be conveyed or received in minutes if a casual contact is made by the coffee machine or hallway. In a virtual environment, that communication might not happen at all or require a 30-minute meeting. Body language is important and is conveyed in three dimensions. The ability to drop in on a colleague who is sitting in a conference room waiting for a meeting to start provides an opportunity to engage in creativity. I am able to see if my colleagues are on a virtual call, but I am not sure if they are free to talk. The issue of working in an office is not straightforward, and good management should avoid inflexible edicts.
The need for staff to deal with eldercare issues has required managers to be less rigid about the time and location of work, even before COVID. Many people became attracted to the flexibility and absence of a commute, as a result of the dramatic increase in working from home. People prefer to work in sweatpants and hang out in their living rooms. The old fashioned working day and the separation of work and home life are missed by some.
There is also an economic class bias. Jobs with physical presence tend to pay less. Delivery people, warehouse workers, factory workers, plumbers, electricians, restaurant workers, cashiers, nurses and people in construction and transportation are not allowed to work from home. The degree of flexibility is not uniform.
Powerful leaders like Musk and Adams may try to force the issue, but I think the issue of the workplace will become situationally determined. The hierarchy in some organizations may informally motivate staff to imitate their boss. If the boss comes to the office and staff want to communicate with him, they will come to the office. Ambitious people will show up if they need physical presence.
Talented staff will make flexibility a condition of employment in a brain-based economy. This is happening now. The point of Jin’s piece was that. Tech businesses with flexibility will steal talent from inflexible businesses. In a tight labor market, workers often have more power to force workplace flexibility. During a recession, management may have more leverage to enforce its workplace preferences. Who pays for workspace in a hybrid model is another factor. If you work from home, you will use more energy to heat or cool your house, need more space to work, and might need a high-powered internet connection. It costs money to do that. Your organization can save money on space, energy and waste disposal. Some organizations see hybrid work environments as a way to cut costs.
There are two different types of tech businesses that will emerge. Musk attracts people who want an in-person work environment. The second is mostly virtual. It will be interesting to see how the two models fare in competition.
I prefer in-person work environments. It is easy for me to do that. I don’t have any elder care responsibilities anymore. My children are adults, my parents are dead, and my employer rents me an apartment within a five-minute walk of my office. My personal preferences are not relevant to this discussion. I think we are entering a new world where place of work will be variable. I don’t think the traditional office or downtown will disappear, but workers will be given more flexibility to complete tasks outside of the office. Places that deliver health care, education, food, and similar services will add online components, but will still need a physical presence. New York’s financial district now includes housing, and we will see more apartment conversions and construction in the Midtown business center. More offices are opening 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 888-282-0476 There will need to be restrictions on thezoning to accommodate the changes.
For some organizations, place is the most important part of the value proposition. The French Quarter is a special place in New Orleans. People can gamble on their phones, but Las Vegas has a gambler’s strip. I can watch the Yankees on TV, but there is no substitute for the rush I get when I am at the stadium and see the green of the outfield. Columbia University is a school in New York. My students and faculty colleagues are here because they want to see the city in a different light. That can’t be called in or experienced on zoom.
People will show up in person if place matters. The work can be done from anywhere when place doesn’t matter. An understanding of the importance of place to strategy and mission is needed for effective management. The issue of where work takes place is now included in organizational management.
